Remnants of Desires
by ShadowBladeKnight
Summary: Desires: a strong feeling most have but it can bring consequences to having desires and that is what happened to me. As years go by, I lived with no family, living with regret and grief for what happened. Everything changed when I found a coin that took to me to a world where their are not only warriors of the world but also the Greeed. Will I survive or be corrupted by greed?
1. Chapter 1: Loss of Desires and New World

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with a special crossover! In this Self-Insert crossover, I will be following with not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, but no Birth [Maybe]). Don't forget to check out my other stories including ' **Cosmic Stratos** ' (Kamen Rider Fourze x Infinite Stratos), and **Kamen Rider Blade: Undead and Dragon** (Kamen Rider Blade x High School DxD). Anyways without further ado, let us begin the crossover of Kamen Rider OOO and RWBY, Remnants of Desires. Also in this crossover my age remains the same. (My actual age is 19). And this story will be one of my long running projects to be made.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

EDITED AT 12/24/15 6:35pm

* * *

 _Desire. The strong feeling of wanting something or wishing something to happen._

 _During times of man, many have seek their desires for what they want or wish. And there are those who have no desires._

 _One with greed, one with no greed._

 _Man's greed and desire soon becomes suffering._

 _The cause of this suffering is attachment to, or craving for worldly pleasures of all kinds and clinging to this very existence, our "self" and the things or people we—due to our delusions—deem the cause of our respective happiness or unhappiness._

 _The suffering ends when the desire ends, or one is freed from all desires by eliminating the delusions, reaches "Enlightenment"._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Loss of Desires and a New World**

I was at home with my mom and little sister as I was reading a book on the couch as my little sister watched TV. "Hey Enrique, can you change the channel please?" she asked.

I looked at her. "Sure." I answered as I change the channel she wanted to watch as I then went back to reading. Like my sister called me, Enrique is my name. I then looked at the calendar and I became sad knowing that tomorrow would be 3 years since dad died. I didn't talk much to my mom or others except my little sister since. My mom got me help, which was going under therapy. Still, it doesn't change the fact that my dad was gone for good, I wanted him to come back.

My little sister and my mom, they were also sad that he was gone but it didn't change the fact that I was broken inside much more than the two. I noticed my mom walking to the kitchen so I decided to ask her. "Hey mom, are we going to see dad again, tomorrow?" I asked her. There were times I didn't want to talk much to her.

"We will." she answered. "I am sure he will be happy knowing we get to see him again."

My little sister looked at me as I looked down. "Can you please be happy?" she asked.

I looked at her knowing she was worried. Despite being 8 years old, she wanted to help me.

"I will be okay…" I said, hiding my sadness. I got up as I walked to my room and closed the door behind me. I slowly slid down from the door as I held my hand over my face.

' _Dad… why did you have to leave us?_ ' I thought. I looked to my left and saw a picture frame of myself when I was little, showing a smile and my dad along with my mom and sister. It was the last family photo before he died. I got up to look at it once more and when I look at it, I saw my reflection; My hair was a bit messy but spiky as well. My skin tone was close to a light ivory color, with dark brown eyes. I put the photo back on the dresser as I just fell onto the bed and decided to go to sleep so I can be ready for tomorrow to see my dad.

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes knowing that it was Tuesday and I had to go to school. I got up and walked out of my room and went to the showers to get myself ready. After doing the usual routine to be ready for school, I went to the bus stop as my little sister had to wait a little longer for the bus for her school.

I saw other kids talking to each other as I just waited. When the bus arrived, I walked inside the bus and took my seat and wait as the bus drives to the school.

When I made it to school, I went to my locker as I put the combinations and unlock it. I opened it to grab my books, but it closed and saw it was the same guy who bullies me. He is a bit taller than me with slightly tanned skin, blue eyes, and messy brown hair.

"Looks like soldier boy is sad once again. What's the matter? Can't help yourself?" he said.

"Not in the mood, Derek." I said as I was about to walk away until he grabbed my shirt.

"Don't walk away when I try to talk to you." he said as he aimed his fist at me.

"Hey, you two!" a older male voice said.

We turned and saw a man who was in his mid 30s wearing the school security uniform. It was Mr. Stuart, one of the school's security faculty. He was also one of the people that knows my dad. "Mr. Derek, unhand him. Do I have to take you to the principal's office once more and contact your parents?" he asked, sternly.

Derek let me go as he walked to class. I looked at Mr. Stuart as I adjusted my shirt. "It's okay, Mr. Stuart, we were only talking." I said.

"Enrique, he was bullying you again. I know you been having a rough time since your father's funeral." Mr. Stuart said. "And I know today is the anniversary, be happy for him."

I looked at him before I looked down as the first bell rang. "You should get to class before you are late." he said. I nodded as I walked away.

I went to class as I began to listen in on the lecture as well as taking notes and doing classwork. Ever since my dad died, I was also left vulnerable to people like Derek, I was bullied since I started middle school. I wanted to tell others that I was okay but they still want to help me. I wish they just won't care about me and focus on their lives.

* * *

After 6 more hours, I walked out of school and saw my mom waiting for me by the car. I waved as I walked to her and also saw my little sister in the car so I got inside and sat.

My mom then drove us for a bit as we made it to the cemetery, the place where my dad was buried. I noticed it began to rain as well so we got umbrella as we entered the cemetery and walked until we saw my dad's tombstone.

I looked at it as I tried not to cry. We then heard the sounds of thunder, making my mom look up. "We should go, you two." She said.

"I want to stay here for a while longer, mom." I said.

"...I know but it looks like a storm is approaching." my mother explained, the clouds darkening and rumbling overhead. "Let's go."

"I don't want to go yet!" I talked back. "I want to stay here longer!" My sister was already at the car, having gone on ahead while I stubbornly refused to move away from my father's tombstone.

"Enrique, it's only going to get worse." Without even waiting for me to respond, she firmly gripped my hand and started dragging me back to the car. I was upset, more upset than I had ever been. Why did we have to leave dad so soon?

"Mom can't we go back, I wanted to stay," I persisted.

She sighed deeply by the wheel, her eyes to focused ahead on the road. "Like I said, the storm is only going to get worse. Now will you please let me drive in peace!?" she trailed off forcefully, maybe a bit more than she intended.

I huffed, not wanting any of it. "I wanted to stay!"

Right next to me, I hardly cared that my sister was squirming in her seat, frightened as she watched the spectacle of me and mom arguing. I don't think she's ever seen us go at it before, not even when dad was alive.

"Please stop...mommy...bro, don't fight," she pleaded.

I jerked my head to her, ready to tear my heart and lay it all out, but the urge evaporated when I saw how shaken she truly was. "Didn't you want to stay with dad more?"

"Mommy's right, it's going to get cold," her tone was ashen, almost terror-stricken.

"We should have just stayed. So what if we get soaked in the rain? It's just rain," I reasoned.

The moment my mother turned away from the road; the windscreen drizzled with heavy rain, was when we both failed to catch the subtle, but fast approaching light. Marie however…

"Look out!" the next thing I knew was being thrown around my seat, body slamming against the door. The rest was nothing but darkness; numb, unforgiving, and cold.

Cold? Why am I feeling cold? Wait, what happened? I stirred from what I could barely presume was sleep, only for my ears to be harangued by heavy rainfall. Why is it raining? My eyes, heavy and glazed, were opened to mere slits. I tried moving my head to futilely regain my bearings, but much to my ever increasing bewilderment I couldn't. What gives? What the heck is going on?

Slowly, but surely, I started to get some feeling back. First my arms, then most of my torso. Pain. So much pain. What IS going on? Where am I? I let out a dull groan, unsure on whether someone was nearby or not. I wanted to move. My legs, why can't I feel my legs? Help, I needed help. Someone, anyone?

...mom?

On impulse, I immediately thought of my mother. Where was she? Hang on...I remember...Marie? Oh god, Marie! I hinged my jaw tightly; darn it. The muscles in my mouth twinged all the way down to my neck and clavicle. I don't even know what happened. The growing throbs and aches only worsened as my body started to recover from the numbness. My chest was heavy and breathing thin, I moaned from the agony. Tears started spilling from my eyes.

"M-" come on, I have to say something. I swallowed a gulp of air, only to get a few light coughs for my troublefor my trouble. I snarled, my teeth baring, frustration piling up. Having had enough, I forced my eyes open. I blinked a few times to clear out the blur. On that day, what I laid eyes on would be forever etched in the darkest recesses my memory..

"M-Mom...?" she was on top of me, being suspended by a metal beam, blood running down her mouth.

The next sounds to plague my ears were nothing but screams.

Screams of anguish.

* * *

 **(5 Years Later)**

It was raining as I was looking at the tomb stones of my father along with my mother and sister. It has been 5 years since my mom and little sister died and 8 years since my dad died. I am now 19 years old. My hair was messy but less spiky and it was short with my height now 5 ft. 6in. I was now wearing a black jacket with a gray shirt under it, denim boot-cut jeans, black shoes, and a dog tag locket that was hanging from my neck as it had a cross engraved on it as well.

When news hit about me being the only survivor, they said I was lucky but I wasn't. I lost everything: Home, my family, even my own selfishness. I lost everything knowing that it was my fault. I was the reason that my family died. I wanted to stay and look at my dads grave longer and I paid the price. I learned that wanting, needing, and wishing for things... there is always a price and this is what I get.

When my mom died, I was gonna be put into an orphanage until Mr. Stuart was kind enough to take care of me knowing that he knew my parents very well than anyone else. In fact, they were close friends.

However, I stayed away from my old home knowing that it brings too much memories that I couldn't bear it.

I was traumatized from what happened 5 years ago. Even being here at the cemetery brings painful memories. "I'm sorry you guys..." I muttered. "If it wasn't for me… you would still be here." I place my hand on the ground before I got up and left the cemetery.

I took a bus home to an apartment that I got with Mr. Stuart's help but I didn't need anything. When I made it back, I walked inside as my room was plain. During my high school years, I was still bullied but there was one person from all classes that I went to, who wanted to be my friend. Zack was the person who watched my back. We have been friends and help each other out.

Though he once told me about this Japanese show called Kamen Rider OOO. He told me that the main character, Eiji Hino is similar to me. At first I didn't believe him until he gave me a DVD collection of the show in which I watched it and he wasn't lying. Eiji suffered from a mistake he did to help people only for him to be in a civil war in Africa then his new friend was killed during the process. He lost someone, just like I did.

We both had regrets and we both lost our selfish desires. Now he wanted to help like I often do except I don't help complete strangers, only those I know or can trust.

Right now, I looked over the window and saw it was still raining. I also saw my reflection, despite being happy in front of people, behind my 'mask' was my shattered, lonely, depressed self. I hid those emotions from everyone and everything as years go by.

"I guess I should sleep." I muttered as I fell onto the bed and slowly closed my eyes.

As the night progress, you can see that I was twisting and turning as cold sweat was shown on my face.

 _'We should go you two.'_

 _'I want to stay here longer!'_

 _"Please stop...mommy...bro, don't fight," she pleaded._

 _"M-Mom...?" she was on top of me, being suspended by a metal beam, blood running down her mouth._

"AAAHHHHH!" I screamed as I quickly sat up. I was breathing heavily with cold sweat. Every time it rains my nightmares keep coming back. I place my hand over my face, masking myself from showing my tears. I slowly try to calm myself as I looked at the time, showing it was 2:23AM so I laid down again as tears came down my face.

When morning was up, I slowly opened my eyes as I saw from the window that it was sunny outside. I got up from bed as I got ready for work.

I went to the bathroom and start brushing my teeth. After brushing my teeth and taking a shower, I decided to get myself ready to work and left the apartment.

* * *

 _Meanwhile in another area… well more like a building in another world, had many priceless artifacts as five men in black suits were looking around. "You sure this is the place that Roman wanted us to loot?" one of the guys asked._

" _Of course, idiot what do you think with all this stuff lying around?" he asked. "Now hurry up and bag this stuff."_

 _The other goons nodded as they began to bag some of it but they didn't know that their talk woke up something else. Behind a large box that looked to be ancient, was a small pile of medals. Especially the small pile of medals began moving. It collected itself until it was in a shape of somewhat of an arm as it slowly crawled on the box and it got hold of a piece of stone on top before it twisted it._

" _Uh…" one of the goons said._

" _What?"_

 _He pointed at the old box as it was glowing. Before they knew it, the box became medal coins that spilled out from it before they were taking humanoid forms. Now there was four humanoid clusters of the coin as the goons looked at them in shock. "W-What the hell are they!?"_

 _The clusters of strange coins soon took form before revealing creatures that were completely different than the ones they seen. "Don't just stand there, let's shoot them!"_

 _All five lowered the bags as they began to pull out some type of gun and began to shoot the creatures. However their bullets were not working as the bug like humanoid looked at the two. It then looked at the other three until it looked back at the two goons as it simply walked to the five goons and it knocked them down easily. "_ _ **You think it is time we explore Remnant once again, after reawakening from our long slumber?"**_ _the bug-like humanoid questioned._

" _ **Yes but I feel something vital is missing…**_ _" The feline-like humanoid said.._

" _ **A Core Medal and Medal too…"**_ _The aquatic-like humanoid responded._

 _"_ _ **I saw Ankh holding them before he fled."**_ _The feline-like humanoid answered._

 _"_ _ **What?!"**_ _The others said._

" _ **That bastard, Ankh still is shrewd. I will search for what is mine."**_ _The bug-like humanoid said as the tough looking humanoid punched the wall down and they saw a city from a distance._

" _ **Uh… I found city."**_ _the tough-looking humanoid said, pointing at the city._

" _ **Then I will begin my search first."**_ _The bug-like humanoid said as the four went into the city. What they didn't know was that the glow from the chest sent the red coin somewhere without a trace, to more precise, went somewhere that it will soon be found._

 _In the city, within a certain building, was a man with black hair that is combed back a bit wearing an apron over a business suit along with a woman with green eyes wearing oval-shaped, blue-rimmed glasses. She has natural blue hair that is styled into a right side ponytail, in a business suit as well, were making a cake as a screen was showing video footage of the humanoids. "They have resurrected..." the man said as he finished writing something of the cake._

 _On the cake it said, 'Happy Birthday, Greeed'._

* * *

I continued to walk to work as I walked past people here and there. When I rounded the corner, I stepped on something, making me look down. "Huh?" I muttered as I picked up the item that I stepped on. When I looked at it, it was a red coin with some symbol of a bird but for some reason, I feel like I had seen this before. "Why does it look so familiar…?" I pondered. I shrugged as I decided to place it in my pocket since it was probably not worth anything.

I looked at the path ahead and saw, sadly, that it was under construction. "Great…" I muttered. "Guess I have to make a detour."

I took another path as I saw the park. I shook my head knowing it was bringing back memories but I decided that since I am gonna be late for work, I have to get there in time so I walked through. As I walked, I looked through my phone to see what time it was but all of the sudden it went static. "The hell?" I muttered in confusion. I tapped it more but the screen was still static.

I heard the sound of coins nearby as I seeing more silver coins flying past me. I blinked as I rubbed my eyes to make sure I wasn't seeing things. But I am actually seeing silver coins coming from the trees as the trees are vanishing.

"W-What is going on?" I said in shock.

I saw they began to go around me as if it was creating a barrier around me. "O-okay this isn't funny…" I said as they began to completely create a dome. Soon my head felt some pain but at the same time I was feeling light headed. I fell on my knees as my vision was going to a blur. I fell on the ground with my sight only seeing the last thing I could barely see, the red coin I found as it rolled by itself.

From what felt like hours, I opened my eyes and sat up as I rubbed my head. "Man what hit me...?" I muttered. I slowly got up and realized that I was in an alley.

I quickly checked my pockets and around my neck to make sure nothing was stolen and sure enough I still had my wallet, phone, my dog tag locket, and that strange red coin was on the ground next to me in which I grabbed it. Still, there was something very familiar about it.

Wondering where I was, I walked out of the alley and to my shock, I was in the city but not the city I remembered being in. "Where the hell am I?" I said to myself. I looked around more as I noticed the moon and to my shock, it looked shattered. "W-What the hell happened to the moon!?" I exclaimed in shock as I stare at it.

Now I was freaking out. I somehow ended in some place that had a shattered moon. I can think of two things. One: those silver coins took me to the future. Two: I was transported into some place that was never discovered. I was nervous, shocked, and frightened knowing that I arrived here for some unknown reason, don't know why and I don't even know where I am at exactly.

As I travel around, most of the places were fairly nice but still I had to find out where I am at. When I noticed a vending machine, my stomach growled. I sighed as I walked to it until I realized that I didn't have coins and from seeing it, it _only_ accepts coins. "Wait." I muttered as I pulled out the red coin. "I wonder if this works."

I decided that I was about to place it until I felt a tap on my shoulder.

" **Give it back….** "

I looked over my shoulder as I saw some red arm, "Dude how can it be you-" I then realized that the arm… was only an arm! "AAAAHHHH!" I screamed as I kicked back and fell to the ground. I looked around to make sure I wasn't seeing things but strangely, I didn't see it.

" **Hey!"** the same voice said. I slowly looked at the vending machine and saw the arm appear from the side, making me shake. **"That hurt! You…"**

"AAAHHHH!" I screamed again as I just ran for my life. What would you do if you had some floating arm going after you?!

" **Hey! Wait! Hey!"** the red arm shouted as it chased after me. I also passed by some shop but I rather run than hide knowing that I am being chased by a freaking arm!

* * *

 _In the shop filled with crystals along with some magazine and food, some people were cowering from a bug-like humanoid as it was walking towards them. He looked to his side, where the door is and saw a group of thugs wearing black suits with red tie and red tinted glasses as they suddenly enter along with a man wearing a white suit and white fedora. "_ _ **That greed of yours is perfect."**_ _it said to the man with the white suit._

" _Never expected a bug to crawl in this store." he said as he tapped his cigar. "A big one at that." He nodded at the thugs as they aim their guns and swords at the bug-like humanoid. "Squish the bug. You two take the Dust."_

 _They nodded as four of the men go after the large bug and the other two quickly collected the now called Dust. They try to attack the bug like humanoid, but their attacks are inefficient against him as he knocked them to the ground as he approached the man with white fedora._ _ **"Hmph, you really do have greed."**_ _he said before presenting a silver coin and flipped it as it was in the air until it went into the top of his hat like a piggy bank._

 _Before anyone knew it except one who was wearing headphones in the magazine section, completely unaware of what is going on, a figure appeared behind the man as it looked to be a mummy. It looked at the crystals that were in the glass before it punched through and began eating them._

" _Hey, those belong to us." the man with the fedora said as the thugs got up._

 _The bug-like humanoid saw the mummy moving a bit until a new figure bursted out of it, revealing a mantis-like humanoid. "_ _ **Find my Core Medal."**_ _the dark bug-like humanoid ordered. "_ _ **And retrieve it."**_

" _ **As you wish."**_ _the mantis like humanoid said as it escaped along with the dark bug-like humanoid._

 _The man with the fedora was confused at first until he decided to use this as a quick chance. "You guys know what to do, get the rest before those bugs come back for more." he said. They slowly nodded._

 _One of the thugs was collecting some dust until he noticed someone wearing a red hood reading a magazine._

* * *

I was now in, from the looks of it, in the center of the city as I continued to run as I look at the coin. "Just what the hell was that?!" I said. I ran until the arm was now in front of me.

He slowly rotated showing his palm. " **Give it back! It's my body!"** he said. I swear, his voice was familiar as well but from where. Before I could think more, he grabbed my shirt. " **Hurry and hand it over! I'll let you live till then."**

As much as I want to scream I wanted to talk after hearing that. "N-Now hold one, I found it when I was on my w-way to work." I explained with a stutter. Great talk about the saying, 'talk to the hand'.

" **Yet you found it. I dropped it during my quick escape in a museum."** the arm said.

Museum? Before I could ask him, I heard another voice. " **The Core Medal."** the humanoid said. It looked like some mix between a human and a praying mantis as it had those blades going down. He split his hands as blades appeared in the middle. " **Hand it over."**

Hold on, did he say… Core Medal? As in those coins from... you gotta be kidding. I looked at the arm once more. The voice, the red look, being a floating arm, and those wings. I was actually talking to Ankh! Ok what the hell is going on here!? I now realized that the bug was.. what were they called again?

Before I could think more, the bug-like human slashed those slashed coming towards me until the arm who I now realized it was Ankh deflected the slashes. The bug realized who it was. " **You."** he said. " **Ankh!"**

Now I am actually not seeing things, I was seeing Ankh in person, now I definitely wonder what is going on! I haven't watched Kamen Rider OOO for the past 2 years.

" **Stay out of it! This is my Core Medal."** Ankh said.

The two began to fight but Ankh started to lose from him. " **Don't interfere!"** the bug-like human said.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" I shouted as I got hold of the bug-like human.

" **What are you doing?!** " Ankh demands.

Before I could answer, the bug got hold of my shirt as it looked at me before it threw me to a table by a cafe. I was in pain as I saw the bug swipe its blades against each other until we heard a siren as I saw some police car driving towards our direction. I soon got a familiar deja vu now.

In the car I saw a man in his 20s with dark hair that was messy as he had, green eyes, wearing, from the looks of it, a uniform since the car had the logo of 'V.P.D.' He aimed some gun at the bug and began to fire rounds making the monster pissed as it swiped a slice towards the car, causing it to crash.

Now my eyes widen as cold sweat was going down my face. I began to tremble seeing what happened as the officer was slowly getting out before he was no more. Now my memories were returning of the accident from 5 years ago as I began to breath heavily.

I slowly crawled to the person and looked at him. He looked to be 5 years older than me. Seeing his pain face, was making my eyes and body tremble. "Wake up! Please get up!" I shook the officer a bit. No avail until I noticed his gun. It looked a bit futuristic. I looked back at the monster as it was about to finish Ankh so I slowly grabbed the gun and aimed it, dumbly at the monster. "Leave him alone!" I shouted as I, for the first time, fire a gun as I continued until it was out of ammo, by that I mean I couldn't fire any more.

The monster looked at me but Ankh took the chance by knocking the monster back. The monster looked at Ankh before it jumped back to avoid another hit as Ankh looked at me.

" **Ankh! Why try to protect a human?"** the bug questioned.

Ankh ignored the bug as he looked at me. **"What's your name?"** Ankh asked me.

"E-Enrique…" I answered.

Ankh flew a little back. " **Enrique, you impressed me despite being a bit idiotic for what you did."** he said. " **I'll tell you how we can be saved."**

"H-How?"

A purple glowed appeared below him as a rock fell from the glow as he caught it.

The bug stood back a bit in shock. " **Isn't that… the seal…"** he said.

Ankh placed the so called 'seal' on my waist before it glowed as it shattered before becoming a three slotted black and blue device with a metal belt around my waist. One side with some kind of scanner while other was some kind of Medal container. This was the O-Driver, the actual O-Driver I saw before. Now I remember, this is from Kamen Rider OOO but I don't remember a shattered moon or the city looking like this plus the vending machine was different as well. I also remember that the praying mantis humanoid was the Yummy from episode one. I was in surprise knowing that this was sudden but one thing: I don't know how to fight.

" **My hand held more than Core Medals."** Ankh said to the Yummy before looking at me. " **Enrique, the only way for you to survive is to defeat him."**

"W-Wait, I don't know how to fight." I said. "Heck, I never fought anyone at all. Not even a human-sized praying mantis."

He was about to speak up until something knocked the mantis back. We looked to where it came from and saw a woman who is middle aged with very light-blonde hair tied back in a bun with a curl hanging down the right side of her face. Her eyes are bright green and she wears thin oval-shaped glasses. She was wearing a white long-sleeved suit that exposes part of her chest, and puffy sleeves that tighten near the wrist before spreading back out near her hands. She was also wearing a black business skirt with buttons running in a vertical line up the front of it and lighter black-brown stockings, black boots with brown heels and wears a tattered cape that is purple inside and black outside. She looked at the officer before looking at the bug. "I suggest you stand down." she ordered the bug.

" **Don't interfere!"** the Yummy shouted as it threw energy slices at her but the woman put up some seal that actually blocked the attacks.

" **Quick, Enrique this is your chance! Doesn't matter if you are new to fighting."** he said. " **Just hit the monster with your fists."** He then presented two Core Medals.

"I…" I said as I looked at the woman fighting the Yummy. "I'll help. if it means saving lives."

" **Then hurry up and do it, Enrique."** he said before clenched his… well hand into a fist. " **Henshin."**

When the bug heard that word, it threw more energy slices at the woman before making one hit the light post next to her, making the woman jump back.

I looked at the Yummy as I flipped the red Core Medal before I caught it. I now held the red and green Core Medal. One resembling some bird while the green one had some type of image of a grasshopper.

The Yummy looks at me with horrified expression, " **Hey! Don't do it, there is no going back!** "

I inserted the first two Medals. "I have nothing to go back to..." I started before inserting the yellow Core Medal that resembled a tiger. "Only the goal of saving many lives." I finished as I tilted the Driver.

Ankh grabbed that round device from my side before showing it to me. " **Use this."** he said.

I slowly grabbed the device which was the O-Scanner as the noise was going off. I took a deep breath knowing I will be fighting for the first time in my life and swiped the three medals. "...Henshin…" I said before I moved the O Scanner close to my chest.

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

I became surrounded by spinning coloured Medals which accompanied the transformation so I couldn't be too sure how the woman was reacting. In front of me, I spied images of the three Medals I was using appear. Taka was of course on the top, Tora was in the middle, and Batta was at the bottom. The three images then combined into one large crest which flew backwards and into my chest. My body then became enveloped in energy which swiftly hardened into solid armour.

My helmet was mainly black, save for the red faceplate which looked like a hawk with its wings spread out in flight. On my forehead and acting as the hawk's beak was a red crystal. I could see through the large eyeholes which was strange since I could see through it clearly when the eyes are supposed to be green.

Running from my chin and down my neck was a red line that was connected to the top portion of the image on my chest. My torso armour had rounded shoulders that had yellow lines on them. Yellow lines ran down my arms and into the yellow gauntlets I wore decorated with what looked like folded claws on the forearm.

Lastly my legs were minimally covered with segmented green armour not unlike that of a grasshopper's legs, connected by green lines to the lower section of the crest I bore.

I became Kamen Rider OOO. This was amazing to witness in person. I placed my hands on my helmet to feel the helmet and it was really real. No prop, no gimmick, not a costume, and not some special effects. This was real.

" **Just what I had hoped for."** Ankh said before flying next to me. " **If you fight, you will understand on what it can do. Remember just punch your opponent if you wanna survive."**

I nodded before I charges at the Yummy. "Just punch." I repeated as I remembered how Derek aimed his fist at me back in middle school. I did the same and punched the Yummy back as I soon heard a tiger's roar, making me jump a bit. "What the-?" I looked at my arms until I saw the Yummy raise it's arms and try to attack me, making me raise my arms until I looked and saw long yellow claws of my forearm. "Claws…?" I said until I remembered what Eiji did. So I copied the way Eiji attacked as I moved my arm across as the claws struck him, making him bleed silver coins. "What the…? He is bleeding coins?" I said to Ankh.

" **Cell Medals."** he said. " **Now refocus on fighting him."**

"Eh?" I responded knowing that I only watched the series once until the Yummy slashed my chest multiple times, making me fall onto my back and saw that the yellow part on my arms, shoulders, and the middle symbol was losing color for a moment. "What is going on?"

" **Enrique."** Ankh called out as he presented another green coin similar to the Batta one. " **Switch the middle one with this."**

He threw the coin at me as the bug was gonna attack me until that woman used some attack as shards of ice appeared and hit the Yummy. She looked at me before I switched the Core Medals and repeated the process and swiped it with the O-Scanner and moved it close to my chest.

 **TAKA!**

 **KAMAKIRI!**

 **BATTA!**

Now the center yellow piece changed into a lighter green than the Batta legs as the middle symbol was a praying mantis and my arms have armed blades similar to a praying mantis.

" **Alright."** Ankh said as he floated somewhere near the police car. I looked at the Yummy knowing that I got a new piece or some sort. I never had a lot of knowledge of the OOO series even though I watched the show. I charged once more but again, I was displaying horrible attacks, showing I was a definite newbie to this fighting stuff. I did got some hits on him though as he fell backwards with those Cell Medals bleeding more on him. I heard the sound of the Praying Mantis as I did the stance Eiji did. I charged one more time as I aimed the blades at him. "Seiya!" I exclaimed as I got a good hit on him, sending him flying before exploding into those Cell Medals. "Woah…" I said as I look at myself knowing I actually 'squash' the Yummy. I then remembered Ankh. "Hey Ankh where are yo-" I started as I saw him as he covered the young officer's arm. Now I remember, in the series he… oh.

Ankh looked at the officer as he made him stand up. " **I've found the perfect body for me."** he said before I saw the young officer's eyes open up as he was talking with Ankh's voice. A blue surge surrounded him as his hair changed into just like the human form Ankh I remembered from the show. " **Now…"** he started. "I can move a bit more easily."

I looked at him up close. "Is the body you took over… is he…?" I asked, nervous.

"What do you think?" he questioned. "I took his body since he was moments from death." he looked at me. "Move that buckle to its original position."

I looked down and did so, reverting me to civilian form. He walked up to me and took the O-Driver and grinned. I was about to ask him more questions until the woman confronted us. "You two are coming with me." she said, sternly.

"Aah!" I said before raising my hands in the air while Ankh facepalmed.

* * *

After trying to convince the woman that Ankh is not a… bad guy. She allowed him to go with me but he managed to, well, eat those Cell Medals with his hand…. that was kinda weird to see in person though. But what was strange was that their was less Cell Medals than I last saw, making me remember that something takes them but Ankh was still upset that some Cell Medals were gone.

Both of us were now in an interrogation room with a girl with very dark brown hair that was cut short, stylized to look a bit wild but still neat enough and longer on the right side of her face. Her hair fades to red as it gets closer to the edges. She had pale white skin that emphasizes her hair color. She wearing a black blouse and skirt that have both have red trimmings, black leggings, and black boots with red laces and soles. Along with that was a black corset with red strings, a dark gray belt that held… bullets. I am not kidding this girl had bullets on her left side and an actual ammo pouch on her right side and has a silver rose buckle. She also has silver eyes surprisingly and a red hooded cloak.

"So how did you get here?" She started as she looking at us.

"Well… I kinda had to fight a giant bug." I answered before pointing at Ankh. "He helped me… kinda."

"Oh." she said as she looks at him until we heard the door open and saw the woman enter the room.

"Blondie, I have matters on my hand, so you better make this quick." Ankh said. I nudged my elbow, telling him that is not a good idea to say as the woman looked sternly at all three of us before looking at the young girl.

"I hope you realize that your actions tonight will not be taken lightly, young lady. You put yourself and others in great danger." she said.

"Those bad guys started it!" the girl explained.

"Can you at least give her a break?" I said to the woman. "I mean she might have good reasons to whatever she did to help protect or whatever she was trying to do." I actually didn't know what the girl did but hey, might as provide some assistance.

The woman looked at me and Ankh. "And you two better realize it as well. You have caused damage and…" she looked at Ankh. "Whatever _you_ did to the officer and put another life in danger."

"Hey wait, he wasn't trying to put my life in danger." I argued. "He did it so we can survive."

She ignored my words as she continues to talk. "If it were up to me, you'd be sent home…. with a pat on the back." I noticed the girl smile as the woman noticed it as well. "...And a slap on the wrist." she then slams her wand on the table as the girl barely avoids it. Hell even I jumped from it but not Ankh knowing he is those monsters called Greed or is it Greeed with an extra 'e'? "But… There is someone who wants to meet you three."

She moved out of the way as the girl was surprised while Ankh and I look at him as we saw a man in green, wearing glasses, and has silver hair with a yellow scarf around his neck holding a plate of cookies along with strangely a popsicle, and a mug.

Ankh looked at the wrapped popsicle in the man's hand, as the man noticed him staring at the popsicle. "Ruby Rose." he said as he leans in to look at her. "You… have silver eyes."

"Creepy." I muttered. But I found out that the girl's name is Ruby Rose. He then looked at me and Ankh.

"An arm that… took over a dying officer." he said before he looked at me. "And you seem to be in a place you don't fit in."

I flinched.

"So! Where did you learn to do this?" he showed a tablet showing Ruby fighting some guys in suits. My jaw dropped when I saw the video. She was fighting with a large scythe!? Who in God's name lets a girl that young wield a weapon like that!? More importantly, how in the hell can she fight like a pro!?

"S-Signal Academy." she answered.

The man looked at me and Ankh again and changed the footage to show me becoming OOO and fight the Yummy. "And where did you get this kind of ability?" he asked me.

"Uh…" I stuttered until I pointed at Ankh. "He helped me."

"But you clearly have no combat experience." Ozpin said.

"It for our survival." Ankh answered. "I need him to stay alive."

"I see." he then focused back on Ruby. "They taught you to use one of the most dangerous weapons ever designed?"

"Well, one teacher in particular."

"I see…" he muttered as he puts the cookies on the table in front of Ruby and the wrapped popsicle in front of me and Ankh. Ankh grabbed it, unwrapped it, and began to eat it. I chuckled knowing that he ate 5 in the second episode without a brain-freeze. For Ruby, she was eating the cookies in a single bite before shovels the rest. "It's just that I've only seen one other scythe-wielder of that skill before. A dusty, old crow…"

Ruby began to muffle through her mouth. "Manners." I said to Ruby. She stopped and realized that she still had cookies in her mouth so she swallowed and wipes her mouth. "Sorry." she looked at the man. "My Uncle Qrow! He's a teacher at Signal. I was complete _garbage_ before he took me under his wing. And now, I'm all like-Hooowaah! Witchaaaa!" she was doing some karate style poses and noises, making Ankh scoff and me chuckle.

"So I've noticed." the man said and looked at me. "And you managed to defeat something that isn't a Grimm." he remarked. "And you seem to show promise as well."

"Umm… Excuse me, but what is a Grimm?" I asked, confused to him.

The woman showed a raised eyebrow, the girl looked surprised that I didn't know what a Grimm is, and the man looked at me for a moment before taking a sip. "Seems I was correct, you don't fit in and have no knowledge of Grimm. Tell me, where are you from?"

"Umm... I am not... From this world or whatever." I honestly said. This made Ruby and that woman surprise.

"How can you be telling the truth?" The woman asked.

"Because I never seen the moon broken, never heard of Grimm, never fought in my life, and I especially remember people as young as Ruby not allowed to have weapons." I answered.

"Do you hit your head or something?" Ruby asked.

"No, but I believe the young man might be telling the truth." Ozpin said. "What do you like to know first?"

"What are Grimm?" I started.

"They are creatures of destruction." He answered. "They are drawn to feelings of negativity such as envy, sadness, loneliness, and hatred."

I clenched my hand tightly under the table knowing that I am hiding those emotions from everyone and everything. "I see..." I muttered.

"So what is an adorable girl such as yourself doing at a school designed to train warriors?" The man asked Ruby.

"Well... I want to be a huntress." She answered.

"You want to slay monsters?"

"Yeah! I only have two more years of training left at Signal! And then I'm going to apply to Beacon!" She said as she began to talk faster and faster with her enthusiasm growing. "You see, my sister's starting there this year, and she's trying to become a Huntress, and I'm trying to become a Huntress 'cause I wanna help people. My parents always taught us to help others, so I thought, Hey, I might as well make a career out of it!" She giggled and continued. "I mean the police are alright, but Huntsmen and Huntresses are just so much more romantic and exciting and cool and really, gosh, you know!"

I looked at Ankh as he looked at me before looking at the rest and continued to listen.

"Do you know who I am?" The man asked.

"You're Professor Ozpin." Ruby answered. "You're the headmaster at Beacon Academy."

The man now named Ozpin smiled. "Hello."

"Nice to meet you." Ruby said.

"You want to come to my school?" He asked.

"More than anything."

Ozpin then looked at me and Ankh. "What about you?" He asked.

"M-Me?" I asked, surprised.

"And your arm friend here." Ozpin added.

I looked at Ankh. "Knowing I have to make sure you survive so I can continue to find the Medals, we might as well." Ankh said. His attitude still the same as in the show. "However, a school? Not that you notice but I am in a officers body." He scoffed.

"Perhaps acting as a guard for him." Ozpin suggested.

He gave him that usual look he does. "I rather be someone who keeps him alive." He said.

"That kinda sounds like a bodyguard." Ruby pointed out.

Ankh didn't say anything as I looked at Ozpin. "If the goal is to save people's lives then yes." I said.

"Okay then." Ozpin said.

* * *

The Next day, we were in some, shockingly, an airship which was awesome as Ankh was now wearing that style of clothing he wore in episode 2 as I sat next to him. "Hey Ankh, why do you care about collecting those Medals?" I asked despite that I once watched the show at home.

"What do you think? It is to recover my actual body." He said.

"Oh..." I said.

When Ozpin explained to me more about Beacon yesterday, it turns out it is a combat school training students to fight Grimm at the start of age of 17 but I am 19. He thought it will provide training for me but Ankh says we will have to survive no matter where we go but he was disappointed at the fact that we will be staying there for the next four years.

"Look, Ankh, I know you are disappointed that I accepted this but this will help me survive as well, I will find those Cell Medals for you." I said.

"Whatever, if it's to help you survive then so be it." He said.

I was remembering all the episodes I watched of OOO until the both of us then heard a girl's voice. "Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" She said. We looked and saw that it was a girl who was two years younger than me as she was wearing a tan vest with gold piping over a yellow, low-cut crop top with a black crest that resembles a burning heart. The vest has puffy cap sleeves with black cuffs. On the sides of the cuffs, there are two small, golden buttons. She also wears a brown belt with a buckle, a pouch, and a small banner-like object. The same burning heart crest appears on this banner, except golden in color. She wears black shorts under her belt, which resembles a pleated skirt in the back. Over the short shorts but under the belt is a white, asymmetrical back skirt. Aside from an orange infinity scarf around her neck, she has no discernible jewelry. She wears brown, knee-high platform boots that appear to be made of leather, with orange socks of different lengths. Her left leg also has a gray, bandana-like object wrapped around the top of her boot. She wears fingerless black gloves underneath her weapons, which resemble two yellow mechanized gauntlets with a black design. Her long blonde hair becomes lighter in color at the tips and flows in a loose and messy manner, with a few locks sticking out and a small cowlick on top of her head. She has a pale complexion and lilac eyes.

Ruby looked like she was running out of air from that hug until she noticed me. She quickly ran to me as the girl who apparently is her sister followed. "Hey, Enrique!" She said as she approached me.

"You know him Ruby?" The blonde asked her.

"Oh I forgot." She said. "Enrique this is my sister, Yang. Yang meet Enrique and his friend/bodyguard, Ankh."

Ankh scoffed on the word friend. "It is nice to meet you." I said until I noticed the girl now named Yang with a smirk.

"Nice to meet you, Enrique." She said before she looked me over. "I gotta say, you sure are cute." She winked at me.

"Umm…" I stuttered before looking away.

She then looked at Ankh. "You don't look much of a bodyguard." She remarked.

"You don't resembled anything like her." Ankh countered.

I was confused for a moment until Ankh and I noticed the news.

"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Roman Torchwick, who continues to evade authorities. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please contact the Vale Police Department." the woman on the news said. "Also an incident of strange monster in Vale and the disappearance of an officer during the incident. Officials are still in search of his body." Soon the screen shows the officer who Ankh inhabited.

I looked at Ankh who had no care for what happened.

"In other news-" the news was interrupted when a hologram of the woman from yesterday was shown.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon." She said.

"Who's that?" Yang asked.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch."

"Oh."

"So that is her name." I muttered.

"You are all some of the privileged few who have what it takes to be the next Hunter and Huntress. And while our world is experiencing an incrideble time of peace, that could change in the matter of moments. But as the future protectors of this world, you have the duty to upload the balance of this world. "But by coming here, we are going to be the ones to help train you and give you knowledge to face the obstacles that may come your way. You are the next generation to become heroes and protect this world. Now welcome to Beacon Academy," said the hologram of Goodwitch as she the projection disappeared.

One thing's for sure, this is survival for me. Not only I am in a new world, I met Ankh, became OOO, performed an inexperienced fight, and saved lives. Maybe this school will help me survive.

* * *

 _In the building from before the man was singing happy Birthday as he was writing something on yet another cake.. "Happy birthday... Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday dear..." He finished writing on the cake as it said, 'Happy Birthday, OOO. "OOO." He finished as he looked at a long box that was wrapped with a bow. Basically a present._

 _He heard the door open as he saw a man with a black jacket, black pants, and a black motorcycle helmet over his head, shielding his eyes. On his side was two short swords that looks like it can convert into pistols. This showed that the biker was also a fighter, the world's protectors, a Hunter._

 _The man handed the biker the present. "Give this to OOO." He requested. "He was taken to Beacon Academy."_

 _The Biker nodded and left._

 _"Happy Birthday, OOO." He said as he watched the Biker leave._

* * *

 **A/N:** Whar do you think of this OOO crossover? I hoped you enjoyed this kinda emotional chapter. Look forward to see more in the future (Let me know if you want to see moe chapters)! See you all later and stay in the shadows everyone! Also you guys are welcome to make a cover for this story and send it to me. PM me if you are interest in making a cover for this story.


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to Beacon, OOO!

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the second chapter! I am glad that you guys enjoyed the beginning of the story. Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, but no Birth [Maybe]). Anyways without further ado, let us continue the story.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

We were walking out of those ships as one guy run past me before going to the nearest trash can and began to lose his lunch. "Man, I guess some couldn't handle flying in a ship." I chuckled.

Ankh and I were walking until I was in awe of the academy. It kinda feels like I am going to college except I have to fight Grimm.

"What are you doing?!" a voice yelled. We both looked and saw a girl looked to be 17 with long white hair that is done in a side ponytail on her right and is adorned with a small but elaborate tiara that resembles icicles in shape. On her thin upper body is thigh length white dress that fades to pale blue as it goes from top to bottom with a piece of black lace making up the neckline. A sash is tied around her waist that is the same pale blue as the dress and a pale blue pouch is attached to the back. A bolero jacket of the same color scheme with a red interior is worn over her dress, the design of a snowflake on the back. Upon her slender legs are white, heeled wedge boots that go to mid-calf; the insides are also lined with red and are most likely the reason as to why she's taller than Ruby. She wears an apple-shaped necklace and a pair of rectangular earrings as accessories. She has light-blue eyes along with a pale white complexion and her otherwise perfect skin is marred by a scar on her left eye.

"Sorry." Ruby apologized.

"Sorry?! Do you have any idea at the damaged you could have caused!" The white hair girl exclaimed.

Ruby was holding a case. "Uuhhh…"

"Give me that!" she said as she snatched it from Ruby and revealed its contents. "This is _Dust_ \- mined and purified from the Schnee Quarry!"

"Uuuhhh…"

"What are you, brain-dead?" she held onto the vial of the so called red Dust. "Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!"

"Hey!" I shouted to the white hair girl. Ankh watched as I approached her. "Look, she said she is sorry and don't be rude to someone who is trying to apologize."

The white hair girl looks at me. "And why are you defending her?"

"Because she is my friend." I answered. "So stop being mean to her."

I noticed Ruby looked like she was about to sneeze as Ankh pulled me back and soon enough…

 **BOOM!**

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Welcome to Beacon, OOO!**

I was shocked that the so called Dust can explode from a simple sneeze. "Uh… thanks, Ankh." I thanked him.

"Like I said before, it is trouble for me if you don't survive." Ankh muttered. "I still need you for gathering Cell Medals."

I know I don't remember much of the show but I know there is more to this of him, keeping me alive. But what? I guess I should have watched the series again and again back home. We looked back as we saw that girl covered in soot but it quickly disappears. "Unbelieveable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!"

Ruby looked apologetic and embarrassed. "I'm really, really sorry!"

"Ugh, you complete dolt! What are you even doing here? Aren't you a little too young to be attending Beacon?"

"Well, I-I…"

"This isn't your ordinary combat school. It's not just sparring and practice, you know! We're here to fight monsters, so... watch where you're going!" Weiss exclaimed.

I was about to defend Ruby once more until she spoke up. "Hey, I said I was sorry, princess!" she said, finally fed up with what Weiss said.

"It's heiress, actually." another voice said.

All three of us including Ankh looked as we saw a girl who looks to be 17 as well. She has long, wavy black hair that stops at her waistline. She was wearing a black buttoned vest with coattails and a white, sleeveless undershirt that exposes part of her midriff with white shorts that have a zipper on the front of each leg. Stockings that start off black at her hips, but gradually fade to purple as they near her black low-heeled boots adorn her legs and feet. The outside of the stockings have white symbols on the side, appearing to be belladonna flowers. She wears black ribbons on both of her arms, with a black detached sleeve and a silver band on her left arm. Around her neck is a detached scarf-like collar. Her skin has a light olive similar to mine but she was adorned with amber colored eyes which are complemented by light-purple eye shadow which flare backwards. Due to her naturally upwards shifting eyes, along with her purple bow upon her hair, she strangely has a distinctly catlike appearance.

"Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest producers of energy propellant in the world."

The pale girl now named Weiss smiled. "Finally! Some recognition!" she said.

"The same company infamous for its controversial labor forces and questionable business partners." she added.

Weiss looked pissed as Ruby chuckled. "Wha- How dare you- The nerve of… Ugh!" she then grabs the bottle that the girl had and walked away with her helpers gather the luggage and follow.

Ruby falls back to the ground on her back. "Welcome to Beacon…" she muttered.

"No kidding." I said.

"And thanks, Enrique for trying to defend me from her." Ruby thanked.

"It's what friends do." I smiled.

I then saw a guy with messy blonde hair and dark blue eyes. He was wearing a white chestplate and shoulder armor. Under the armor, he wears a black hoodie with reddish-orange sleeves and a symbol hidden underneath the chestplate. He also wears blue pants with a white patch on the left knee, as well as black shoes. He has two belts crisscrossing his waist, both different shades of brown, with a pair of small pouches on them, brown wrist-length gloves with exposed fingertips and a small metal plate on the back. His sword is strapped to the left side of his waist in a sheath that doubles as a collapsible shield. He was holding his hand out to Ruby.

"Hey… I'm Jaune." he introduced himself.

She took his hand and stood up. "Ruby." she said until she realized something. "Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"

Oh yeah I remember someone almost threw up in the ship. Almost got on my shoes too.

* * *

We were walking inside the walls of Beacon which was filled with scenic trees, arching architecture, and a winding road alongside a river, which we were walking down.

The guy now named Jaune was talking to Ruby as we tagged along. "All I'm saying is that motion sickness is a much more common problem than people let on!" he explained.

Ruby was laughing. "Look, I'm sorry! Vomit Boy was the first thing that came to my mind."

"Oh, yeah? What if I called you Crater Face?" he countered.

"Hey, that explosion was an accident!" Ruby argued.

"She's right you know." I said. "I saw it first hand."

"Oh, I never got your name." Jaune said.

"Name's Enrique." I introduced as I then looked at Ankh. "And this is my partner, Ankh."

"Hey there." Jaune said to Ankh but he just looked at him before ignoring him. "What's with him?"

"Um… well it is kinda hard to explain but it is not important." I answered. "So your name's Jaune?"

"Yep! The name's Jaune Arc! Short, sweet, rolls off the tongue - ladies love it!"

"Do they?" Ankh questioned as he looked skeptic.

"They will! Well, I-I hope they will. My mom always says that… Never mind."

"Doubt it." he said.

Ruy giggled. "So… I got this thing!" she suddenly got out a large red scythe and stabs it to the ground.

I looked at it in both awe and shock. I mean this my first time seeing it up close.

"Whoa! Is that a scythe?" Jaune asked.

"It's also a customizable high-impact sniper rifle!" She added. My jaw dropped. It is also a gun?! Just how badass is that weapon?! What's next?

"A... Wha?" Jaune asked, confused.

"She meant to say it is also a gun." I said to make it more simple.

"Oh. That's cool!" Jaune said.

"So what've you got?" She asked Jaune.

"Oh! I uh..." He unsheathed his sword. "I got this sword."

"Oooooh!"

"Yeah and I've got a shield, too!" Jaune states while he gets his scabbard, raises his arm and expands the metal into a shield. I gotta admit, it is cool.

Ruby reached and touched the shield. "So, what do they do?"

Jaune begins fumbling with the shield as it retracts off his arm, expands, and retracts again before putting it back in place and finally shrinking it down for good, placing it on his belt. "The shield gets small, so when I get tired of carrying it, I can just… put it away…"

"But wouldn't it weigh the same?" Ruby asked.

Jaune slumped down, dejectedly, "Yeah, it does…"

Ruby giggles a bit. "Well, I'm kind of a dork when it comes to weapons, so I guess I did go a little overboard when designing it."

"Wait – you made that?!" I exclaim in shock. Not only she can fight and wield that scythe-gun hybrid but she made it!?

"Of course! All students at Signal forge their own weapons!" Ruby answered before looking at Jaune. "Didn't you make yours?"

"It's a hand-me-down. My great-great-grandfather used it to fight in the war." The blonde knight explained.

"Sounds more like a family heirloom to me!" Ruby laughs a bit. "Well, I like it! Not many people have an appreciation for the classics these days."

Jaune sheathes his sword. "Yeah, the classics…"

Ruby then looked at me. "What about you? Don't you have any cool weapons?" She asked.

"Uh... I actually don't have a weapon to be honest." I answered.

"What? But how will you defend yourself against the Grimm?" Jaune asked, shock.

I was about to point at Ankh until we heard a bike noise. We looked back at the entrance and saw a black bike with someone on it. He looked a bit sketchy but he entered and looked around until he noticed me and Ankh.

He reached to the back of his bike and got out a long box with a bow and walked towards us.

"A birthday present from the boss man," The biker said as he handed me the box.

"Huh?" I said as I looked at it. I opened it and saw a sword to my surprise. It was a long blade that was black with a silver and blue edge, blue lining, and an empty part in the center, shaped like it was meant to hold coins. It also had a lever on and a slot. This was that sword Eiji used, the Medajalibur.

Ankh looked a bit shocked knowing I got a sword that can use Cell Medals. "Uh... Thanks." I said to the biker.

He nodded as he walked away and got onto his bike before entering a ship that soon flew away. I got the sword out of the box along with the Cell Medals placed in my pocket.

"Oooooohhhh! Let me see! Let me see!" Ruby said in joy and stars in her eyes.

I looked at the sword before looking at Ruby who used a weapon that was the ultimate weakness to most people, the puppy eyes.

"Interesting sword…" Jaune comment.

I looked at Ruby knowing she has those puppy eyes. "I don't know, Ruby." I said.

"Pleeeease?" She pleaded as her puppy eyes went into full on cuteness.

"Alright." I said as I handed it to her.

She was looking at it in awe. "This looks so cool!" She said. "I wonder what the slot here does." She peeked in the slot knowing it leads to the empty part in the sword.

I grabbed the sword as I also noticed a metal sheath in the box so I grabbed it and placed it over my back and slowly sheathed the Medajalibur, knowing that this is the first time that I will be using a sword. "At least I now have a weapon." I said. Still how is this the actual Medajalibur and who did he mean by boss man?

"Who made it for you anyway?" Ruby asked.

"Don't know but that guy said his boss." I answered.

"Then how does he know you?"

I shrugged. "Don't know either." I said. But I have the feeling that his boss man is aware of OOO for some reason.

* * *

We entered the academy's giant auditorium, filled to the brim with people. I whistled knowing there was a lot of people. We looked over until we heard a familiar voice. We looked and saw Yang, waving. "Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot!"

"Oh! Hey I-I gotta go! See you after the ceremony!" She said to the three of us before we left.

I looked at Jaune and spoke. "I am gonna find a seat, it was nice meeting you Jaune." I said as Ankh and I walked away.

I was trying to find a spot until I found a empty seat by the same black haired girl with the bow from before as she continues to read a book. "Excuse me, is this seat taken?" I asked her.

She shook her head, showing that the seat isn't taken.

I then sat down as I moved my sheathed sword onto my lap as Ankh leaned against the wall across from my right. Knowing that the girl was still reading that book, I looked at the dog tag locket that was hanging on my neck as I grabbed it and pressed a hidden switch on the side, making it open up.

It revealed myself when I was little but also my parents and my little sister. When they died, I managed to ask Mr. Stuart to make the photo smaller in which it is now in the locket, in the shape of military dog tags. I quickly closed it when Professor Ozpin was readying the microphone with Glynda beside him.

"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction." Ankh scoffed at Ozpin's words as others whisper among themselves. "You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

Ozpin then leaves as Glynda steps up to talk. "You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You're dismissed." She said.

I got up from my seat before looking at the girl. "Well, thanks for letting me sit here." I thanked her as I grabbed my sheathed Medajalibur and placed it over my back and left as Ankh followed.

* * *

The first night at Beacon and already, students are splayed about in sleeping bags.

Ruby wore a sleeveless black shirt with a heart-shaped wolf head on the front with white pajama pants decorated with hearts and a blindfold; Yang wore an orange one-piece shirt with her emblem in a darker shade on her chest and black short shorts.

For me, well I simply slept wearing the same pants and shirt but didn't have my jacket or shoes on. Plus I was sleeping in another part of the ballroom, a spacey part at that where it was only me and Ankh. Ankh just sat against the wall as he kept his eyes closed.

I looked at the dog tag locket again and opened it to reveal the old photo of my family picture. I placed my hand over my face again, 'masking' my face from remembering those painful memories. The Grimm will sure kill me knowing that I am hiding my emotions of sadness, regret, grief, and loneliness.

I noticed a candle light up and I saw that girl again, wearing sleepwear that appears to be a black yukata, with gray and white as a secondary color setup. I also notice Ruby and her sister walking up to her. Choosing to ignore it, I turned around as I place the locket under my shirt knowing that I do this every night before I sleep.

After three minutes, I heard the girls arguing but I wanted to sleep until Ankh spoke up. "Oi, you three girls over there be quiet. Some prefer our sleep so shut it and go to sleep." Ankh ordered to Ruby, Yang, and Weiss from the other side of the ballroom.

They looked at him as they slowly nodded knowing that they believe Ankh is my 'bodyguard'. When they went back to their sleeping bags, Ankh closed his eyes again. The black haired girl still looked like she just wanted to continue reading but I guess the three interrupted her reading.

I sighed as I got up and carefully walked towards her. She took notice of my approach. "Something you need?" She asked, irritated.

"I am not here to make you upset or anything knowing you are really focused on that book." I assured, quietly. "I just wanna tell you that there is a lot of space where I'm at." I pointed to where my sleeping bag and Ankh are as she could see that no one was around that area except Ankh and I. "You are welcome to go sleep in that area. Not much of the students are there to bother you." I offered before I went back to my sleeping bag.

In a minute, I heard a small thud making me look to my left and see that black hair girl taking an empty spot. She then went back to reading her book until a question came up on my mind but I didn't want to be rude. "I don't want to be rude, but what's your name?" I asked, rather nervous knowing that she is reading.

"It's Blake," the black hair girl said, "What is your name?" she asked, peek behind her book.

"Enrique." I answered. "And good night, Blake." I then turned away and slowly went to sleep.

* * *

 _Meanwhile in the city, Vale Police were gathered in the highway as they aimed their guns at the four approaching humanoids._

 _"_ _ **While we Greeed were sealed, the humans and Faunus have changed."**_ _The feline-like humanoid remarked as he had his hands behind his head. "_ _ **They seem more of a nuisance now."**_

 _ **"That's true... although their foolishness seems about the same."**_ _The aquatic-like humanoid agreed. "_ _ **How sad."**_

 _The other two humanoids walked forward. "_ _ **Man... where do we go now?"**_ _The bug-like humanoid said as he crossed his arms. "_ _ **They sure are noisy."**_

 _The tough-looking humanoid moved its it as an elephant-like trunk extended to one of the police cars that has an officer inside and brought it close to him as he then began to get on it and smash the glass. The officer quickly got out but the humanoid grabbed him and smashed him to the ground, creating a crater before throwing him with the officers making them shoot at the humanoids._

 _The Police were trying to fire their bullets at them but it didn't kill the humanoids. Their weapons were meant to kill Grimm and such but now this is a new enemy they have faced._

 _The bug-like humanoid jumped forward as it began to slash some of the officers down as one tried his best to shoot the humanoid but instead got thrown out of the highway. It then looked at the feline-like humanoid._

 _"_ _ **You know what to do, Kazari."**_ _The bug-like humanoid said to the feline-like humanoid now named Kazari._

 _"_ _ **Sure thing."**_ _Kazari answered when he jumped on top of the car before he thrusted his arms out as a yellow energy headed towards the police, sending them away as some cars fell out of the highway._

 _ **"Why can't I have more fun?"**_ _The tough-looking humanoid pouted like a child._

 _The aquatic-like humanoid placed her hands on the tough-looking humanoid's cheeks. "_ _ **Don't you worry, Gamael, you will."**_ _She assured in a sisterly manner making Gamel nod like a child._

 _"_ _ **Let us continue."**_ _The bug-like humanoid said._

 _The four continued their travel in Vale._

* * *

I opened my eyes and saw Ankh as he opened his eyes well. "Looks like you're awake." Ankh said as I sat up. "Now get up, after this... Initiation, I still need you to gather Cell Medals for me."

I grabbed my shoes and jacket as I put them on and pulled my locket from under my shirt and let it hang around my neck. "I get it, Ankh." I said. "Let's eat breakfast before we even continue anything."

"Alright. Knowing you need food so you can survive, then let's go." Ankh said as he got up as well. We followed some students as we soon made it to a cafeteria from the looks of it and Ankh and I got ourselves food.

I began to eat as Ankh ate his. "Tastes different than that ice candy from yesterday." He remarked.

"That ice candy you ate before was ice cream." I said. "If I have enough money, I'll go buy them if you want."

He looked at me for a moment before going back to eating his food. "Whatever." He scoffed. But he wasn't denying it, showing that he likes ice cream more than the food we are eating now.

It wasn't until Ankh spotted something cause him to shiver, "N-No…" he muttered.

"What's wrong, Ankh?" I asked before I turns to see another student have fried chickens on their plate passing us. I looked at him then at the food that past us. "It's just chicken what's wrong with that?" I asked until I remembered. "Oh... I forgot. You don't like to see food that involves birds."

"Let's leave." He said as he got up. I nodded as I followed.

After getting everything ready, we were in a locker room as students were getting their weapons. I dig through my pockets to count the Cell Medals I got with the sword as my locker was in front of me. "Okay I have 6 Cell Medals for the sword." I reached in the locker but didn't feel my sword. "Hey! What happened to my sword?!" I looked around until I saw Ruby showing it to Yang.

"See, Yang. This is that sword I was telling you about. Now do you believe me?" She said.

"Ruby, what are you doing with my sword!?" I questioned.

She jumped as she laughed nervously. "S-sorry Enrique. Yang didn't believe me that I saw a sword like this in person. I had to show it to her." She explained.

Ankh walked past the two as he grabbed my sword, turned me around, and place it in the sheath. "Don't mess with others' toys next time." Ankh said as he turned me back around to face them.

"Anyways Ruby, the sword is called Medajalibur." I said. "And be careful with it next time."

She nodded.

I walked away until I noticed Blake getting her weapons from her locker. "Hey Blake." I greeted. "Good luck on the initiation."

She nodded as she closed her locker and walked away before stopping. "You too." She said before continuing to walk.

I looked at my locket around my neck once more and opened it. "Survival..." I muttered before closing it and placed my hand over my face, masking my painful memories.

We then heard an announcement in the intercom system. "Would all first-year students please report to Beacon Cliff for initiation? Again, all first-year students report to Beacon Cliff immediately."

"Let's go." Ankh said as he walked past me.

"R-right." I said as I followed him.

* * *

We were at the cliff side as Ankh was looking at the forest. "The Grimm haven't changed at all for the past 800 years." He said as he stared at the forest.

I looked at him. "That is how long they have been here?" I asked. He nodded.

We then heard the microphone with Ozpin about to talk. "For years, you have trained to become warriors, and today, your abilities will be evaluated in Emerald Forest." He said.

"Tch, that name is still stuck to that forest?" Ankh said as he watches.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of 'teams.' Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... Today." Glynda said.

"Huh..." I said. "Never knew that this school puts students into teams."

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well." Ozpin continued.

I looked at Ankh knowing that he is keeping me alive despite being a Greeed. Not to mention, I still am trying to remember the episodes but I couldn't remember much.

"That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years."

My eyes widen aftering hearing that.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... Or you _will_ die."

I trembled a bit knowing that I barely fought. I am sure gonna be killed by the Grimm but I still don't know what they look like.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. You will guard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" Ozpin asked.

I heard Jaune's voice. "Yeah, um, sir?"

Ozpin didn't see it as he spoke up again. "Good! Now, take your positions." He said.

I was wondering why he meant by that until I saw students being launched from the... Tiles. I looked down then at Ankh. "Uh... Ankh." I said.

He just stood next to me and we were both launched into the forest. "AHHHHH!" I screamed as we were falling into the forest. I covered myself as I was falling branch by branch until I landed on my feet. Wait what?

I looked up and saw Ankh holding me by the back of my jacket as he was sitting on the branch. "Thanks Ankh." I thanked him once again.

He let go off me as he jumped down. "Let's go finish this." He said until he looked at the bush.

"What is it Ankh?" I asked until l looked at where his sights were on. I was seeing two red eyes. "W-what is that...?"

Before we knew it, it charged as Ankh forced me to duck before we looked back and saw what tried to attack us. It was pitch black on its body with bone like armor as well as being bipedal. It looked menacing as well.

"A Beowolf." Ankh said. "They still look ugly back then and still are now."

"W-wait, a Beowolf?" I asked as it growls at us.

"One of the Grimm." He answered.

My eyes widen as I quickly unsheathed my sword as my hands shake in fear of the Grimm. It slowly crawled toward the both of us. "A-Ankh, what do I do?" I asked.

"Face it. There will be more Grimms in the future despite the Greeed and Yummies, I need you to get ready for them. But don't take a lot of damages." Ankh said.

"B-but I..." I said until the Grimm pounced making me duck again. I tighten the grip on my sword as Ankh jumped onto a branch. The Beowulf charged once more as I quickly moved before using the Medajalibur to strike dumbly at its side.

This cause the Grimm to stumble back as it growled in anger. "Crap…" I said.

* * *

 **(3 minutes earlier)**

 _In the middle of the forest, Ruby lands in a crouch, then darts off with a single mantra in her mind._

 _'Gotta find Yang! Gotta find Yang, gotta find Yang, gotta find...' She repeated._

 _"Yang! Yaaaang!" She shouted. 'Oh, this is bad, this is really bad... What if I can't find her? What if someone finds her first? Well, there's always Jaune. He's nice. He's funny! ...I don't think he's very good in a fight, though. Ooh! What about Blake?! So mysterious, so calm... Plus she likes books! Then again, I'm not sure I'd be able to hold a conversation with her... Okay who else do I know in this school? There's Yang, Jaune, Blake... There's Enrique! He seems to be okay along with his bodyguard Ankh. Who else is there?'_

 _Time seems to slow down as Ruby skids to a halt in front of Weiss as she is turning to face her. She stops just in time for their eyes to meet and a pause follows. This ends when Weiss turns on her heel and walks the other way._

 _"Wait! We're supposed to be teammates…" Ruby said as she followed her slightly._

 _Weiss continued to work her way through the brush, only to find a pinned Jaune hanging from the tree. She gave him a dirty look and then turned around, grabbing a depressed Ruby by the hood, dragging her along. "By no means does this make us friends."_

 _"You came back!" Ruby was too busy celebration to care that she was the second pick as she was quite literally dragged off._

 _"H-hey wait! Come back! Who's gonna got me down from here?" Jaune cried out, his arms flailing as he was pinned to the tree._

 _"Jaune? Do you still have room for me on your team?" Pyrrha had appeared, smiling kindly to him to retrieve her javelin._

 _Jaune did all that he could do, which was cross his arms and pout. "Very funny." He then turned back to smile to her lightly, which she reciprocated._

 _Back with Weiss and Ruby, the two were stalking off into the forest, Weiss in the lead with her usual temper flaring. Ruby called up to her, lagging behind. "What's the hurry?"_

 _"I will not have my grade and my mission be delayed because you were too slow. I swear if I get a bad grade because of you-"Ruby then zipped directly ahead of Weiss in a small shower of rose petals. "What the-?"_

 _"I'm not slow, see? You don't have to worry about that. Just because I don't exactly know how to deal with people, doesn't mean I don't know how to deal with monsters. You're about to see a whole new side of me today Weiss. After it's all over, you're going to be like 'Wow, that Ruby girl is really cool, and I wanna be her friend." Ruby then zipped off again in a shower of rose petals, with Weiss waving her hand to get them out of her face._

 _"You may be fast, but you still excel at wasting time!" Weiss then glanced around, the forest darkening. She glanced around nervously into the brush, where several pairs of gleaming red eyes appeared from the bushes. Slowly, several black wolflike Grimm pushed through the brush, the nearest one giving a howl._

* * *

 _Yang walked through the forest floor, pushing aside bushes as she made her way through the area. "Hello? Is anyone out there? Helloooo? I'm getting bored here." She glance off to the side, parting a bush and peeking through it. "Someone there? Ruby is that you?" Her eyes trailed upward, blinking and grinning, "Nope." Immediately, she rolled off to her side as a large black bearlike grimm swiped a claw at the area she evacuated. Another Ursa followed out of the bushes as Yang flicked her wrists, her Ember Celica shotgun gauntlets unfolding, ready for use._

 _As one of the Ursa charged her, jumping to pounce, Yang pulled back her arm, the gauntlet cocking, before she buried her fist in its chest. The shotgun shells fired off and sent the attacker flying. The second Uras charged her, which she sent one fist flying upward in an uppercut, and pushed the other fist behind her, using the shotgun's recoil to enhance the kick she sent to the monster's midsection._

 _"You guys wouldn't have happened to have seen a girl in a red hood, would you?" Both Ursas stood up on their hind legs, giving another growl, which grinned to. "You could have just said no."_

 _The first Ursa charged her once again, taking two swipes at her with its clawed hands, which she dodged with a back handspring. "Geez, you two couldn't hit the broadside of… a…" She then noticed a flowing lock of her golden hair fluttering down in front of her, hitting the ground in deathly silence. Yang's eyes were overshadowed for a moment as the two Ursas looked at each other in confusion._

 _"You… you… monster!" She brought the ember Celica down to her sides, her eyes taking on a fiery red glow as her body was shrouded in flame. She immediately rushed the Ursa that had killed her hair, driving a straight punch into its gut before following up with an uppercut, then several savage blows to its chest, shotgun bursts firing off on every impact made to the poor creature. She sent the Ursa flying after several chasing combination through several trees ina row of flames._

 _She turned to the other Ursa that stood on its hind legs. "What?! You want some too?!" A shadow then appeared behind the Ursa, and the monster fell at the blonds' feet. Behind it, stood Blake with a small smirk. Yang returned that smirk with another._

"I could've taken it."

* * *

 **(NOW)**

 _Glynda was holding onto a tablet as she walked up to Ozpin. "The second last pair has been formed, sir." she said as she taps the screen. "However the young man that is with the… arm possessor hasn't found a partner."_

 _She looked at Ozpin as he was busy watching footage of the young man and the arm that possessed the officer. "Sir?"_

" _I think he should stay as he is." he suggested as he watched the young man swing the unknown sword at the Grimm. "Despite lack of training, I am sure he will progress." he changed the footage to the video from the previous day of the young man becoming OOO. "And something bothers me about that ability of his."_

" _What do you mean?"_

 _Ozpin rewind the footage to the part where the red arm gave the young man a stone that turned into a belt. "The rock that became a belt. Something tells me that the arm friend of his is much more older than we think." He said. "And that young man holds the item from the lost civilization of Remnant."_

 _This made Glynda look shocked knowing that the lost civilization was once ruled by a greedy king that nearly caused total destruction in Remnant._

* * *

I took heavy breaths knowing the adrenaline rushing through my body as I look at the Beowulf. It took me a while but I _managed_ to defeat it. "Why does that have to be so difficult. Why not just have a Grimm that is as small as a simple worm." I groaned.

Ankh jumped down from the tree. "Let's head north. We still have more to go."

"Right…" I said as I followed him.

After a little while, we made it to some temple as I saw that there was some relics while some spots showed that they were already taken. "Well this is it." I said.

He looked at me before walking past me. "Let's get the relic and head back."

I nodded as I grabbed a crystal chess piece and followed him until we heard gunshots making me run. When we followed the source, we saw Ruby, Yang, Blake, Weiss, Jaune, and three other unfamiliar people fighting a giant scorpion. "T-That is one giant scorpion." I said, frightened until I saw that Ruby charged at the scorpion and got knocked back.

"Ruby!" Yang exclaimed as she runs forward to her.

My eyes widen before I looked at Ankh. "Ankh! I need to transform! We can't just let them die!" I shouted. "Don't you care what happens to them!?"

He then grabbed my cheeks with his Greeed arm. "Don't get the wrong idea." he said as he released his grip and pointed at me. "Your job is to gather Medals despite this initiation and being in this school." he continued. "You don't get to save lives for free. You will do as I say."

I looked back at the others as Ruby was running away from the scorpion until a giant black bird threw a feather and pinned Ruby from her cloak to the ground. My memories of my family was coming back again as I look at my hand. I can even hear my cry from when I was little when I lost my mom and little sister in the car accident and seeing them die. I looked at him then at the scorpion.

I decided to charge forward as Ankh yelled, "Hey!"

I got my Medajalibur ready as I charged. I also saw Yang reached out to Ruby in vain. "Ruby!"

"Not today…" I struck the back of the scorpion's tail as its attention was now focused on me. I stood back as I looked at it. "Come on you oversize scorpion and bird! Get me, not them!" I shouted as the two beasts roared at me before I looked at the others. "You guys go! I will handle them!" I looked at the Grimm again. "That's it! Chase after me! I have the emotions you are drawn to!"

The bird circled back as the scorpion charged at me as I began to run for my life. I looked back as I saw them chase after me. The bird threw feathers at me until one barely passed by my arm resulting with a small cut. This showed that the feathers from the bird is a sharp and solid feather.

I continued to run until I soon met a dead end. I looked back as I got Medajalibur ready with the scorpion and bird was now in front. I clenched onto my dog tag locket. "I guess I will be seeing you guys…." I muttered as a tear fell down from my face knowing this was something I won't survive from.

Before the scorpion could attack, it roared in pain and that was then I noticed that Ankh was on top of its tail with his Greeed arm clenched onto the stinger. "Ankh…"

"If you die, I am in a heap of trouble you know?" he said as he showed me the O-Driver. "Transform then!"

"Make a promise to me first!" I said. "Let me transform whenever I want to! Don't prioritize Medals over people's live!" I continued. "If you don't, I won't transform again!"

He looked at me and sighed in defeat. "Fine!" He tossed it to me before he got swung away from the scorpion. The scorpion was gonna attack him until its stinger was in ice, causing it to stumble. "Huh?"

We looked at saw Ruby and the other seven. "I thought I told you guys to get out of here!" I said.

"I am not leaving a friend behind!" Ruby argued.

"Neither will us." Yang said as the others nodded.

I placed the O-Driver on my waist as the belt appeared. "Like I said…" Ankh tossed me the Core Medals as I caught them. "Saving lives is what I now do." I insert Taka and Batta first before I placed Tora last and tilted the Driver. "And I will continue on helping people." I grabbed the O-Scanner and did the similar pose that Eiji did and scanned the Medals. "Henshin!" I moved the Scanner to my chest.

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

I was then donned in the TaToBa OOO armor as I took a deep breath and got into a fighting stance. However the others were surprised with what happened to me.

"W-W-WHAT!?" Weiss exclaimed.

"Oooooh!" Ruby said.

"Woah…" Yang said.

"Interesting…" Blake said.

I heard the sound of a grasshopper as I decided to jump over the scorpion with the help of Batta Legs and stand in front of my friends. "I may be new to fighting but my goal is to save lives." I said, determined. I heard the sound of a bird from the upper crest as the red glowed, showing that I am actually seeing something on the scorpion. "Hey, Ankh, what does Taka do?"

"Spot the weak points." Ankh answered.

"Oh." I said but the others were surprised that my armor can detect weak points. I charged again towards the scorpion as I dodged its strike and struck its weak point, making it stumble back. "Nice." I said knowing that Taka will be helpful.

"Uh… guys, that Nevermore is circling back!" Jaune said.

We looked and saw the now called Nevermore coming towards us. "Gotta think, gotta think.." I muttered as I tapped my helmet until a light bulb came up. I looked at the side of my belt knowing that those Cell Medals were transported to the Medal Holder. I grabbed three since I will be doing that attack from episode two but this time against two Grimm. "Hope this works." I said as I insert one.

One chime went off before I insert another.

Two chimes went off before I insert the third one.

Now, three chimes went off as I pushed the lever, showing the three Cell Medals in the Medajalibur. I got into a stance as the blue edge on the blade began to glow making the others surprise. "Stand back you guys." I said as I used the O-Scanner to swipe across my sword.

 **TRIPLE SCANNING CHARGE!**

I drew my arm back before swinging the blade at the two incoming Grimm. Pure power cut through the air, the rock wall, the trees, and the two Grimm. A line of white energy bisected _everything_ in front of us at a diagonal angle. As the line was set, everything slid down the angle including the trees and the rock wall slid before going back to its originals position but the two Grimm…

They exploded in the process.

I looked back at the others as they were utterly shocked with what I did.

Ruby jaw dropped.

"What?" I asked the 8.

Ruby soon got in front of me. "Ohmygod! Whatistheswordmadeof!? CanIfindaweaponlikethat? Anymoreofthoseswordsstilloutthere!?" She said, very fast.

"W-Where did you get a weapon like that?" Weiss asked.

I looked at the sword before I shrugged. "Beats me but I got it from a biker who said it came from the great man." I answered. "He said the great man, his boss, made it for me."

"Aw…." Ruby pouted.

"A-Anyways…" I titled the Driver to its original position before reverting to civilian form. "We still have a test to complete."

They slowly nodded as I looked at Ankh. "Ankh..." I said as I presented him the three Core Medals I used.

He got up and wiped off the dust on his clothes. "Just remember that we have Medals to find. I will continue with that promise of yours of saving lives." he said, upset before he walked to me and grabbed the 3 Medals.

I slowly nodded as we followed the others.

* * *

We were in the auditorium knowing that we survived including myself. RIght now, teams were being assigned as they were announced by Ozpin.

"Russel Thrush. Cardin Winchester. Dove Bronzewing. Sky Lark." Ozpin said as the screen shows each of their profiles as the four said guys were lined up. "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team CRDL, led by… Cardin Winchester!"

The audience gave one more wave of ovation while the four walk up to the stage to take their places in front of the headmaster as their faces fill the screen.

"Jaune Arc. Lie Ren. Pyrrha Nikos. Nora Valkyrie. The four of you retrieved the white rook pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team JNPR." he continues. "Led by… Jaune Arc!"

"Huh? L-Led by…?" Jaune said, surprised.

"Congratulations young man." Ozpin commented.

"Blake Belladonna. Ruby Rose. Weiss Schnee. Yang Xiao Long." he motions over the four as they stand before him. "The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by… Ruby Rose!"

Weiss looked to her right, surprised where Ruby was obviously shocked as Yang goes over to hug her sister.

"And now will Enrique step forward along with his guard, Ankh." Ozpin said causing some murmur.

We looks at each other before we step forward as Ozpin spoke up. "Young man, you have retrieved the crystal Knight piece. A rather interesting choice knowing of the display you showed to protect the eight students." he displayed a photo of me on screen as it also showed footage of my Triple Scanning Charge attack. The students except Ruby and the other 7 were left utterly in awe for what I did and their looks showed they should have had me on their teams. "You will have the option to choose which Teams you would like to assist from this day forward." he continued. "So young man, which Teams you would like to assist?"

I looked at the students along with Ruby and the others. "I choose to help out Team RWBY." I answered. "Someone once told me that one keeps their allies close but keep their friends closer and protect them as if it is their last stand. And those are my friends that I will help out to save lives."

Ozpin showed a smile as he nodded. "Very well, You will be assigned to both Team RWBY." he said as everyone applauded. I looked at my new friends as I nodded as they smile back.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an interesting year." Ozpin said.

After a little while as students went to their respective and newly assigned dorms, I approached Ozpin. "Ozpin, there is something I want to inform you."

He looked at me. "And what is that?"

"I was wondering if you can allow me and Ankh to leave class during certain situations. The monster you once saw, there will be more of them no matter the time of day." I explained. "Ankh… gathers the coins they spill to prevent further danger."

Ozpin took a sip before he looked at me for a moment until he spoke up. "I will inform the staff of your task." he said. "You certainly showed promise and chose a wise chess piece."

I tilted my head. "What do you mean?"

"The Knight represents people who protect and defend the citizens' lives, saving them from any danger that lies ahead." he answered.

I was surprised as Ankh scoffed. "Well thank you, Professor Ozpin." I thanked him. The both of us then walked to our dorm as I was about to unlock mine with a device called a Scroll. Ankh was given one too as he began to press keys here and there. I guess 800 years stuck in an ancient box made him see that us humans had evolved. As I was about to open the door I noticed the room behind us, that was across the hall, open. I looked back and saw Ruby.

"Hey, Enrique!" she said. "I didn't know you are living in that dorm room."

"Well… yeah." I said as Ankh walked inside the dorm room. "I take it you and the others are getting ready for sleep?"

"Yep! And that sword move you did was so awesome!" she said. "Are you sure there is no place to find one like that?"

"I'm sure. You heard what the biker said." I recalled. Ruby sighed.

"Anyways, you four sleep well." I said.

"You two as well."

I closed the door behind me as I saw Ankh looking at the two beds in the room. "I might have something." I said as I walked past him. I began to move the bed around as I remembered those swing beds so I gathered the blankets and sheets from the bed and using some rope that I surprisingly found and hanged it. "There, knowing you like being on high places, you can sleep like that." I said.

He walked to examine it, testing the rope for its strength to hold as he got on and turned away. "Get rested, we have Medals to find tomorrow."

I chuckled. "Alright, alright." I said. "And thanks Ankh. Despite being a heartless Greeed, you sure do have a heart to think about _some_ people." I removed my jacket and shoes before I simply laid down on my bed. And note to self, buy additional clothes soon.

* * *

 _As night appeared, in an abandoned mansion, the four humanoids looked around. "_ _ **This place can be of use for us."**_ _the bug-like humanoid said._

" _ **I like this place!"**_ _Gamael said, excited like a child._

 _The bug-like humanoid turned to the door. "_ _ **Now if you excuse me, I have to search."**_ _he said as he left, searching for a host to create another Yummy._

* * *

 **CURRENT CORE MEDALS:**

 **Taka**

 **Tora**

 **Batta**

 **Kamakiri**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

 _"_ _ **Time for a Yummy to be born**_ _." It said before inserting a Cell Medal into her forehead._

"You want lunch? Then come after me!" I taunted as I ran away with the giant Yummy chasing me.

It flew around me before the rest of the cans did the same. "Woah..." I said in awe as they soon flew towards Academy while some stayed. I insert one more Cell Medal and pressed the black button.

 **Next Time: A Bug in Beacon!?**

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as well as the Triple Scanning Charge attack. Look forward to the next chapter. Stay in the shadows everyone! Also I am accepting OC Yummies for the this even though I am bringing the Yummies from the show.

Type of Yummy:

Host:

Greeed of Origin:

Description upon completion of desire:

How it is defeated:


	3. Chapter 3: A Bug in Beacon Academy?

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the third chapter of OOO! Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, but no Birth [Maybe]). Chapter 12 of **Keyblade Wizard** is almost done so look forward to it. And on October 31st for the Kamen Rider Ghost x Soul Eater crossover. If you know a good title for it, feel free to let me know. Anyways without further ado, let us continue the story, shall we? And one other thing, I want to thank Kamen Rider Chrome for helping me out with this chapter knowing that he thought of a good desire for a Yummy to be born from.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

I was sleeping soundly in bed as Ankh was resting on the swinging bed that was hanging. As I slept, the alarm from the alarm clock was going off, making me look at the time, showing that it is 8:00 AM. I sighed before I sat up and stretched.

I looked to where Ankh is sleeping before I got up from bed and pushed the bed a little, making it swing a bit. "Ankh, I have to get to class…" I said as I walked under the swinging bed.

Ankh just waved off as he jumped off the bed and adjusted his clothes. I was in the shower to get cleaned up and got dressed before I walked out wearing the Beacon Uniform. It was a black suit lined with gold, accompanied by a blue vest and a white shirt with a red tie. It does look nice I gotta admit, but for Ankh, knowing he is only acting as a 'guard' to what others think, he just wore the clothes from before.

"Let's head to class." I said as we walked to the classroom that will be taught by a Professor Port. When I was walking to class, I noticed some students began to murmur.

"Isn't he that student that literally cut through the entire forest in front of him but killed a Deathstalker and Nevermore?"

"I wonder who is he? To have a bodyguard, he sounds important."

Ankh ignored those words as well as me. When we made it to class, I simply opened a book and began to read to learn more about this world even though Ankh knows about this world more.

"Let the first day of class, begin…" I muttered

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: A Bug in Beacon?**

I was taking notes in class as Port was talking about the types of Grimm but I am sure Ankh knows about them as he was leaning against the wall by the door. I was in the front row, where Team RWBY are at with Ruby taking a quick nap, Blake and Yang paying attention, and Weiss was taking notes like I am.

The professor soon told a bad joke which made the whole room quiet with Ruby waking up. However, as he continues, he began to talk about his story about himself. I face planted upon listening to this.

I heard a snicker as Ruby shows a drawing of a stick figure but makes fun of Port's name. Blake, Yang, and I laughed but Weiss was annoyed.

"Ah-heh-hem!" Port said, as our attention went to him. "In the end, the Beowolf was no match for my sheer tenacity, and I returned to my village with the beast in captivity and my head held high, celebrated as a hero!"

He took a bow as I noticed Weiss was getting more and more frustrated.

"The moral of this story? A true Huntsman must be honorable! A true Huntsman must be dependable! A true Huntsman must be strategic, well-educated, and wise!" he said. "So, who among you would like to demonstrate these traits?"

I raised my hand. "Umm… I would like to try sir, even though I am not all that wise and honorable." I said with Ankh just watching.

"An honest young man, then step forward and face your opponent." he said. "Please head out get your battle outfit."

"Umm… I won't be needing much of a battle outfit."

This surprised him. "Young man, how will you fight then?"

I stepped forward as I put the Driver on my waist. "Ankh, can you let me use them." I asked.

"Fine, this will help you learn to survive by doing this." he said as he tossed me the three Core Medals. "It will be trouble for me if you don't survive."

I sighed as I caught them before placing them in the Driver. "Henshin."

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

I soon transformed into my OOO armor and got out the Medajalibur. "I always carry my armor. Well before it was Ankh." I explained to Port who was surprised.

"Amazing!" he said as he saw my armor. "Let the match begin!" he said before he swung his axe down and breaks the lock revealing a boar like Grimm.

"It's a Boarbatusk, Enrique." Ankh informed. "Just survive this."

"I understand." I said as I used Taka Helm to scan for any weaknesses and sure enough it was under his belly along with some other soft spots as its weakness. "Okay… day two of training, start."

The Boarbatusk charged as I moved to the side. "Now how can I roll the pig…." I muttered. Before I knew it, the Boarbatusk literally jumped and rolls into a ball and launches itself towards me. I guess I jinxed it.

I got my sword up as it was grinding against it but the Grimm was pushing me back. "Come on…" I muttered. I looked back as I was about to hit the wall. "I wonder…" I used Batta Legs and jumped over as the Boarbatusk hit it but got stuck due to its tusks.

"Oh-ho! A strategic plan you have developed." Port commented.

The Boarbatusk trying to get itself out of the wall. I take the moment to catch my breath before I focused my attention on the Grimm as I charge forward. I heard the roar of the tiger as I moved my right arm out with the Tora Claws revealing itself as I threw Medajalibur at my best to the Boarbatusk as it got stuck to its back and I used Tora Claws with the help of Batta Legs and jumped on top of the Grimm and clawed its center skin, where its hair is, making it squeal in pain. I dug the other under its bone-like armor and muster all the strength I had and literally pried it open and stabbed it, killing it. I got off the Boarbatusk as I was panting heavily knowing that this was my third time fighting a Grimm.

"Bravo! Bra-vo! That was an excellent strategy, using those blades to pry under the bone on top of its body, exposing it's weak spot and killed it from there! It appears we are _indeed_ in the presence of a true Huntsman-in-training!" Port said.

"Umm… thank you." I said. I put the Driver in the original position as I gave Ankh the Core Medals.

"I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Be sure to cover the assigned readings, and… stay vigilant! Class dismissed!"

Most of the students were walking out of class as I noticed Weiss glaring at Ruby before she hurriedly went for the exit.

"Sheesh, what's with her?" Jaune asked.

"That is what we're wondering too." Blake said "Interesting fight you did though."

"I'm not used to fighting." I answered, honestly. "This is the fourth time defeating a Grimm."

"It is a good thing you survived." Ankh said who is still looking at the Scroll device. "This device certainly provides a lot of data for me to search for information."

"Why is that?" Yang asked.

"None of your concern." he said to her.

* * *

 _Weiss is still storming off, but Ruby turns a corner and manages to catch up with her._

 _"Weiss!"_

 _Weiss turns around and said, "What?"_

 _"What's wrong with you? Why are you being-?" Ruby asked until she was interrupted._

 _"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you? You're supposed to be a leader, and all you've been so far is a nuisance!" Weiss answered._

 _Ruby scoffed. "What did I do?" She asked._

 _"That's just it - you've done nothing to earn your position! Back in the forest, you acted like a child, and you've only continued to do so!"_

 _"Weiss, where is this coming from? What happened to all the talk about 'working together'? I thought you believed in acting as a team." Ruby asked._

 _"Not a team led by you. I've studied and trained. And quite frankly, I deserve better." She turns her back on Ruby, who was trying to reach out but dropping her hand. "Ozpin made a mistake." She walks away with Ruby looking dejected._

 _"Hmm... Now that didn't seem to go very well." Ozpin remarked._

 _"Is she right? Did you make a mistake?" Ruby asked, on the verge of tears._

 _"That remains to be seen." Ozpin laughed slightly._

* * *

 _Meanwhile, as Weiss continued her walk, she was sulking over that she was suppose to be leader not Ruby. "Why did Ruby have to be a leader and not me!?" she muttered to herself._

 _She then noticed something by the trees. She saw floating clusters of coins by the tree. "Huh?" she muttered. "What is that?"_

 _Her questions were answered when it gathered only to reveal a bug-like humanoid as it looked at her. "_ _ **That greed you have will suit perfect for the next Yummy."**_ _It said as it began to walk towards her._

 _Weiss was frozen where she was standing knowing that the creature isn't a Grimm and it was able to talk. "_ _ **Time for a Yummy to be born."**_ _He said before inserting it into her forehead. Weiss froze to what had happened as the humanoid turned Weiss around as a mummy like creature appeared from her back and began to walk away, searching for team leaders and show them... The hard way._

 _It watched the mummy walk away before it looked at Weiss who was frozen in shock to what is going on before she fainted. It chuckled in amusement before jumping away, avoiding further detection._

 _When Weiss woke up, she looked around as she was sitting against a tree. 'What was that? Was it a dream?' she thought._

 _What she didn't know was the the same mummy was hurting a team leader to continue to gather Cell Medals and grow so it can reveal its form._

* * *

A day past and it was lunch time as I got my lunch with Ankh avoiding any bird-related foods but he instead got ice cream Popsicles, 8 of them to be exact. I began searching for a table to sit at until I heard a voice.

"Enrique, over here!"

I looked and saw Ruby waving as I also saw the rest of her team along with Team JNPR. I walked to their table as I sat next to Blake as Ankh sat by me as well.

"Woah! You are gonna eat all that?!" Jaune questioned as the others noticed Ankh with his 'ice candy'.

"This is cold but it is also tastes sweet." Ankh said as he took a bite, ignoring Jaune's question.

"He prefers that more than other foods." I explained.

"Really?"

I nodded as I ate my food before I heard some chatter from another table.

"Did you hear what happened to Indigo? I heard he got hurt badly and sent to the infirmary." One said.

"How?"

"All he said was some mummy. They think the punches he took might have made him see things." The student replied.

"Man that is the sixth time I heard something like this. I heard that most of the others were team leaders."

Ankh must have heard it as he smirked. "A Yummy is here." He said. "It must be gathering Cell Medals by hurting the students."

"Uh... Why did you say Yummy?" Yang asked, overhearing the conversation.

I looked at the others who were looking at me. "W-well uh..." I stuttered.

"None of your concern." Ankh said to them. "It is a matter that I need him to deal with. Not to you humans."

"Hey!" Weiss exclaimed. "We deserve answers. Why did you say Yummy and you keep telling him about gathering something Medals."

He then presented his Greeed Arm as it was close to Weiss's face. The others were shocked to see that his right arm change. "Some answers are not for free. There is always a price." Ankh said. "So I suggest you stop asking." He then went back to his seat until his arm flinched. "Medals... The sound of Cell Medals." He said before he quickly got up and he dragged me along as well.

"H-hey!" I said.

What we didn't know was that Team RWBY and Team JNPR followed us.

When he dragged me to the hallway, Ankh and I saw a Yummy punching a student and kicked one away. I was about to intervene until Ankh stopped me. "Let it gather more Cell Medals." He said.

"But-" I was interrupted when a voice called out.

"Enrique!"

Ankh and I looked back and saw both teams and they saw the Yummy hurting the students as it began to move slower, showing it is about to change.

"What is that thing?!" Ruby exclaimed.

"That isn't a Grimm." Blake said.

I looked at the Yummy as it slowly flinched before it fell and a mantis shaped bug appeared out of it. An ugly looking mantis at that, just like from episode 2.

"Let's go, Enrique." Ankh said.

I nodded as we followed the Yummy but my friends followed. "You guys need to tell any staff to keep away from this and try to get the others to safety." I said to them. "This is something Ankh wants to me do."

"But-"

"Get going…" Ankh ordered in a defiant tone as this cause both teams to froze.

They slowly nodded before they left the Yummy to us.

"Hold it," Ankh grabbed Weiss' arm.

"Unhand me!" Weiss demanded.

"Hey, let her go!" shouted Ruby.

"Ankh, what are you doing?" I questioned.

"The scent of Cell Medals is coming from you," Ankh studied Weiss. He smirked, "Of course. Now I understand."

"Ankh?" I asked.

"The Yummy was born from _her_ ," Ankh stated as he pointed at Weiss.

"Are you saying this is my fault!?" she yelled.

"The Yummy was born from _your_ desire and only exists to satisfy it. You tell me."

"Weiss, did anything happen yesterday?" I asked. "Try to remember."

"It was probably Uva. He's the one who uses bugs," Ankh interrupted.

"Bug..." Weiss repeated. "I... I was encountered by a bug like... Thing."

"Weiss complained that I shouldn't have been leader," Ruby frowned.

"And I guess she felt she should've been picked. No wonder it's been going after team leaders. With them gone, she'll get what you want."

"I never wanted this!" denied Weiss.

The Mantis Yummy took one look at Ruby and roared, " **LEADER**!"

I looked at Ruby. "Ruby, go!" I shouted as I then charged at the Yummy and prevented it from going after her as I used the Medajalibur. "Yang! Blake! Get Ruby away from this Yummy! It sees her as its next target!"

I then looked at Weiss. "If you want to work as a team then act like a teammate and help Ruby. And get everyone away from the Yummy." I said.

She looked at me before she nodded as they left to get Ruby to safety along with keeping others away from the Yummy.

The Yummy pushed me away as it turned around and crawled away to continue to gather Cell Medals.

"Let's go after it." Ankh said. I nodded as we went after it.

* * *

We followed the Mantis Yummy as we saw it destroying a trophy room full of pictures and records about past leaders and noticed one other thing about the ugly looking Mantis Yummy.

"Holy cow..." I said in shock as I saw that the Yummy already got into its _massive_ size. Now I know how Eiji felt when he saw it. I quickly got the Driver on my waist as I looked at Ankh. "Ankh, the Core Medals."

He tossed them to me. "Don't get killed." He said before he jumped onto the roof.

I nodded as I placed the Taka and Batta first before inserting Tora and tilted the Driver. I grabbed the scanner and swiped it across the Driver. "Henshin!" I exclaimed before moving it close to my chest.

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

I soon transformed into my OOO armor and got out Medajalibur. "Over here you overgrown bug!" I shouted. It turned to me and roared.

"You want lunch? Then come after me!" I taunted as I ran away with the giant Yummy chasing me. When I got out of the trophy room, it destroyed the wall with it and continued to go after me.

As I ran towards the area where the ships landed, I stopped and turned around with the Yummy roaring at me before it raised one of its claws. I dodged one of its attacks and countered it with a slash to its leg, making it move back. Even though it is a giant Yummy, I can fight it... Hopefully.

I lazily dodged another attack from the side, nearly got me until the Yummy hit me with one of its legs, nearly sending me off the edge of the cliff side. "That was close..." I muttered in relief. I looked at the Yummy as it roared.

Before I was gonna attack again, I heard the sounds of turbines as I looked back and saw a VTOL, kinda similar to the one I seen in the shooter game as it was carrying... A vending machine? In the hovercraft was that biker from before as he saluted at me. He withdrew two twin swords before it converted to twin pistols as he began to shoot at the Yummy.

It roared in pain as the VTOL moved a bit to drop off the vending machine. "What's with the vending machine?" I asked from below.

The biker looked at me as he tossed me two Cell Medals. "Place one in the vending machine and press the button under the blue cans by the following: 1, 4, 2, 3. For the second, press the black button." He said as he continues to shoot.

I looked at it before inserting a Cell Medal before following what he said before I knew it, multiple blue cans came out and I mean a lot.

 **TAKO CAN!**

I grabbed one and opened it before it converted into a small robotic octopus. It flew around me before the rest of the cans did the same. "Woah..." I said in awe as they soon flew towards Academy while some stayed. I insert one more Cell Medal and pressed the black button.

* * *

 _Team RWBY was getting everyone away from the area where Enrique and Ankh are as they handle the giant bug that they both call 'Yummy'._

 _"Are you sure he can handle it?" Blake asked._

 _"I hope so..." Ruby said. "That Ankh person was kinda mean."_

" _He is downright rude." Weiss said. Despite what is happening, she was still felt that it was her fault though knowing that the so called Yummy was born from her desire._

 _They then heard sounds before they noticed small things flying around as some flew past the four girls. One stop as it looked at the girls. What the four were seeing was a small flying, robotic octopus._

 _It then continued to fly, making the girls confused._

" _What on Remnants…?" Ruby wondered out loud._

 _The robots soon formed a floating pathway until they heard the sound of a motorcycle. They soon saw OOO on a motorcycle as he was literally driving on top of the robots that were creating a pathway in the air._

 _"Hey you four!" OOO waved as he drove past them from above._

 _This made the girls jawdrop at the sight of OOO on his motorcycle._

* * *

I can't believe that I was on a motorcycle, driving on top of the Tako bots. The vehicle I was driving was the RideVendor from the series.

The Tako bots were forming pathway that was leading to the Yummy. "Alright... Time for the ultimate slash." I muttered as I got out the last of the three Cell Medals I had in my Medal Holder.

I insert the three Cell Medals into my sword with the chimes going off and pushed the lever. I continued to drive towards the Yummy before landing the bike on the ground, towards it. I then use the O-Scanner and scan the Medajalibur before I stabbed my sword under the giant Yummy. The same way Eiji did in the series.

 **TRIPLE SCANNING CHARGE!**

I held the weapon tightly as it was cutting through the Yummy before I was behind the Yummy. When it turned to me, I slash it with everything behind it went diagonal then back to its original position and the Yummy exploded into mass amounts of Cell Medals as Ankh, in his arm form began to gather them while I took 6 for the Medajalibur.

" **My Cell Medals!** " He said as he ate them.

I chuckled before I drove back to meet up with the others as I noticed Glynda using an ability to repair the damages the Yummy caused.

I saw Team RWBY and drove until I was in front of them and got off the bike. "Well, situation handled." I said as Ankh unknowingly flew past us and to the body he possessed.

"What kind of bike is that!?"

I looked at the RideVendor. "Whoops I should place it by the wall." I said as I moved it to the wall before pressing the switch as it went into its vending machine mode.

"It turns into a vending machine!?"

I nodded. I looked back at the cliff side as we saw the VTOL with that biker giving a two finger salute before it took off back to the city.

"But he was the one that dropped the vehicle off along with those bots that are in that machine." I added. I noticed Ankh took a photo of the ship that left moment awhile.

"Ankh?"

"This will be useful if we ever find that ship again and the one who knows about them…" Ankh said.

I nodded in agreement. Whoever is helping both Ankh and I is highly knowledgeable about the Medals. Could we have a Kougami in this world?

* * *

Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Ankh, and I were in Ozpin's office as he was examining the footage of the Yummy.

"So this creature is similar to the one you fought before?" He asked.

I slowly nodded.

"Do you know what they are called?"

Ankh covered my mouth before I can talk. "It is something that he needs to defeat." He said. "The only matter is for him to collect what I need from them."

Glynda looked sternly at Ankh. "So _you_ are aware of them." She said. "Then tell us what they are."

"Glynda." Ozpin said causing her to stop talking. He then looked at Ankh. "Can you tell us what they are. This is something that can risk the safety of the students."

"Ankh, at least tell them." I muffled knowing he covered my mouth. "They will found out sooner or later."

Ankh looked upset before he lowered his hand. He raised his other arm as they all witness it turn into his Greeed arm. "Those monsters are Yummy, creatures manifested from you humans' desires." He explained. "They come from Cell Medals, those coins you once saw before I got them."

"So these... Yummies who leads them?"

"The Greeed. They were created 800 years ago." He said. "Now they are back to consume the world with desires."

"How do you know that?" Blake asked.

He looked at her then at the others. "Might as well show you." He said before his arm detached from the body as he floated around in his arm form. " **Because I am one."** He said. " **However I only am this. Without my Core Medals, I am not complete."**

Jaune screamed like a girl upon seeing Ankh's form and Weiss and Ruby fainted.

Ankh flew back to the body as he then turn into his human form. "And I keep this vessel alive as I am in control." He added.

Yang managed to wake up Weiss and Ruby as they sat down again.

"What happened…?" Ruby asked.

"Ankh can detach from his... Host and be a flying arm." Yang said.

"How can we trust you, if you are one of them?" Glynda questioned.

"I keep this young man alive to fight against them. Or would you rather see your world be consumed with Desire?" Ankh countered. "Of course you saw that Yummy, imagine different types of them everywhere. Or worse when the other Greeed that dislike me get their Core Medals and destroy all of you." He pointed out.

"If you're an arm, what happened to your whole body?" Yang asked.

 **"** My body was trapped with the Greeed. Two of my Core Medals were trapped with them." Ankh answered. "I managed to save one before that distrustful King was sealed into the coffin."

"Who is this King?" Ren asked.

"The OOO before Enrique here." He answered. "A greedy one at that."

Ozpin became quiet. "Is it the former King who was nicknamed the Multi-King?"

Ankh's eyes narrowed at him. "And how do you know this?"

"A hidden part of history of Remnant that was never revealed to others only to some that promised to keep it a secret like Glynda and myself." Ozpin said. "He used ultimate power and took on other forms. They said he was able to clone himself, burn down villages, create earthquakes and tidal waves, and strike quickly." He continued. "And you have pass that power to this young man?"

"I just need him since he is the only one who can access the power without going out of control." Ankh said.

"Wait then how is he able to?" Weiss asked.

"He lacks desires." Ankh said.

I am not surprised since Ankh might noticed my lack of desires.

"How is that possible? How is he the only one without desires?" Blake questioned.

"That is confidential." I said. "And I rather not talk about it..." I clenched onto my locket.

Ozpin took a sip. "Very well. Is there anything else?" He said.

We shook our heads as Ankh got up and walked away.

"Now students, what I had told you must be kept secret." Ozpin said. "You may understand from what I explained on why the power Enrique now holds must not be fallen into the wrong hands."

"It can create another event similar to the King you speak of." Blake assumed. Ozpin nodded.

"You may leave now." He said as we all got up and left his office.

I walked down the hallway as I notice Blake and others stare at me quietly. "What's wrong?" I asked them. "Why are you all quiet?"

"Why do you lack desires?" Ruby asked.

I looked down when Ruby asked me that questioned. "I don't want to talk about it…" I said. "I told you already it is something personal…" I placed my hand over my face, making me not remember those times. "And it is what resulted with that."

"You can tell us, we are your friends after all." she said.

"I told you, I don't want to talk about it." I said. "After all, there is no return from it."

"I see…" Blake muttered.

"Oi, we must be ready next time so I can get more Cell Medals." Ankh called out to me.

"Alright, Ankh." I said as I followed him.

* * *

 _The 8 watched Enrique follow Ankh as Yang crossed her arms. "That guy is a bit of a pain and treating him like that? Man that guy doesn't care, only cares about Enrique's survival to finding and retrieving those coins." she said._

" _But it looks like he doesn't mind it…" Blake said._

" _Blake, what up?" Ruby asked._

" _It just a hunch, but his lack of desire must do something with his past." Blake said. "I noticed him clench onto that pendant he has."_

" _His pendant? It looks like an ordinary pendant." Yang said._

 _Blake looked back at the hall where the Greeed and Enrique went to. She remembered he always stares at that pendant and he even places his hand over his face as if he was masking something. 'I need to ask him.'_

* * *

I followed Ankh as we soon made it back to the dorm. Ankh jumped onto the swing bed. "Hey Ankh, I am gonna take a walk…" I said.

"Suit yourself, don't go to that forest or whatever." he waved off as he turned away.

I walked out as I decided to walk around the academy as I walked to the rooftop. I sat down as I reached through my uniform before pulling out my locket. I was about to open it until I heard the door from behind open up. I looked back and saw Blake. "Blake? What are you doing here?" I asked.

"You aren't the only one who need to get air." Blake said.

"I see…" I said as I decided not to open my locket knowing that Blake is here. I looked at the sky as I closed my eyes. "You often come up here?" I asked her. She nodded.

"That pendant you have…. why is it important to you?" she asked. "I remember you didn't remove it back in the ballroom."

"Blake… it is something that is personal, okay…" I said. "I rather not tell others…"

But Blake isn't giving up that easily. "At least tell me then." she said.

I looked away. "I told you that I rather not tell you…." I repeated.

"Why mask yourself when you stare at the pendant?" she asked. "Why do you follow him like a lost lamb?"

"He told me that I can survive if I defeat the Yummies and collect Cell Medals when I use the OOO armor." I answered. "Surviving is something that I go through."

"Why do this for him?" she added. "Why keep on helping him, possibly risking yourself to being killed?"

I clenched my fist. "I don't want to tell you, Blake." I said as I try my best to hide my tears.

"Just trust me for once." she said. "You should stop following him like a lamb."

I quickly look away. "Just leave me alone, Blake…" I muttered.

"Enrique, please I want to help you."

"Why are you doing this?" I asked, suspicious.

"I am doing this as a friend and as a teammate. We look after one another." she answered.

I then had a flashback to the day I met Zack.

' _Why are you doing this?'_

' _Friends look out for each other. Come on, after all we are friends, Enrique.'_

"Friends…." I muttered. I slowly turned and looked at her. I slowly grabbed my locket at showed it to her. "Just press the hidden switch on the side…." I said as I looked down.

She looked at it before she found the hidden switch as it surprised her when it opened up. Her eyes widen in surprise to see what was inside the pendant.

"Are they… your family?" she asked. I nodded.

"My mom, my dad, and my little sister…." I said. "What you see in that locket is why I have no desires…"

"I am sorry about your loss…" Blake said.

I grabbed my locket before I closed it. "That is what they all say…." I said. "They think I was lucky for being the only survivor in the car crash. I watched my own mom… my little sister… die." I began to tremble as I covered my face with my hand. "They have no idea what I went through for 8 years of losing a father, leaving me broken. 5 years…" my tears formed behind my hand. "5 years of living without a family, I lived with regret, loneliness, fear, grief. I was to the point that I live with nothing I want, nothing that I don't need, nothing I wish for, I lived with no desires for my desires is what lead to my mom and little sister's death."

"What about friends…?" Blake asked.

"Zack was my _only_ friend…." I answered. "He understood what it was like being bullied…." I continued. "For 8 years I was also bullied. I gotten beaten, kicked, stuffed in lockers... I was vulnerable. Even being with a friend, I was vulnerable."

Suddenly I felt arms around me as Blake hugged me tightly. "What are you doing, Blake?" I asked. "I don't need it after what I-"

"It not your fault." Blake answered.

"It is my fault, I was the reason the only family I had left, die." I said as I try to push her away. "Blake, let go of me."

"No."

I kept doing my best to pull away from her but she didn't. "Blake, let me go now…" I said as my tone was blank knowing that my memories of my family was returning again. "Let me go…"

"You need it." Blake said.

"I told you, I don't." I said as I finally got myself free. "I don't desire anything…." I wiped my tears as I walked away. "Just go back with the others…"

When I made it back to my dorm room, I was about to open it until I heard a door open behind me. I looked back and saw Weiss.

"Hey, Weiss." I said. "Something wrong?"

"I wanted to talk about… what happened earlier." she answered.

I sighed. "The Yummy?" I asked. She nodded.

"It really was my fault, wasn't it?"

I shook my head. "No, it wasn't your fault. It was just your desire and that Yummy went out of control." I answered.

"But that's just it. It was my desire that gave birth to that… thing. I wanted to be a leader so much but instead, I put the school in danger."

"Weiss…" I muttered. She looked like she wanted to cry for what happened and she felt regretful.

"You know what Ruby did when that thing attacked? She helped to evacuate the students. She might be younger than me, but she knew what to do while I just choked."

"Never doubt yourself, Weiss." I said as I placed my hand on her shoulder.

"But why would Headmaster Ozpin choose Ruby as leader over me?"

"Perhaps he saw potential in her. Weiss, being a leader isn't just about being in charge or giving orders" I answered. "Being a leader...it's not a privilege or a right. It's a burden and responsibility. When you're a leader, you're not just risking your own life, you're also risking the lives of your teammates on missions. When you're a leader, you'll have to make the tough decisions and make the right call. Being a leader means being able to shoulder all that and being a pillar for your team."

"But she's just a child," Weiss argued.

"Then be there for her. A leader is only as good as their team and if you can't be a leader, then perhaps you can be the best teammate for her. Teach her and guide her. She's younger than you. That's your responsibility, isn't it?" I said. "There's a saying: Don't judge a book by its cover. Even if Ruby is young, she has potential in combat and helping others. You did mention that she helped evacuate the others. She was doing what was right to save them and prevent further people from being hurt."

She looked at me as I continued, "Ask yourself why you decided to choose this path and what you want from it."

She slowly nodded as I opened the door to my room until Weiss spoke up. "Hey, Enrique."

"Yes?" I asked.

"Thank you…"

I showed a small smile and nodded before I entered my dorm room. When I was inside my dorm, I changed into my new pajamas that was a sleeveless black shirt, and black pants that were a bit baggy at the bottom. I laid down as I looked at the ceiling. I know I may have been a bit harsh on Blake, but it not her problem. And for Weiss, maybe she can think about what it means about helping Ruby as a friend and teammate. I slowly closed my eyes as I went to sleep.

* * *

 **(Dream world)**

' _Come on, bro let's go to this merry-go-round!' the girl said as she was tugging a boy who is older than her._

' _H-Hold on, Marie.' the little boy said. 'Mom, can we?' he asked._

' _Of course you two. Just take make sure that Marie doesn't fall off.'_

' _Yay! Merry-go-round, merry-go-round!' Marie said in joy._

 _After a while, the two were on one of the horses of the merry-go-round. 'Mommy look at me and bro! We are on a horsey!'_

 _The little boy laughed as he watched his sister smile as he was enjoying the carnival ride._

 **(Back to Reality)**

I slowly opened my eyes as I placed my arm over my forehead as the sun was shining. "Around and around…." I muttered as a small tear came down my face. I really do miss my family knowing they are gone, leaving me as the only member of the family left. Even though I have no desire, it hurts whenever my memories of my little sister, my mom, and my dad come back in my dreams.

I wiped away my tears and I got up as I saw Ankh was still asleep. I pushed the swing bed again as I walked past him room below as I went to the bathroom to get myself ready for breakfast. After getting my uniform on, Ankh waking up, and heading to the cafeteria, we were in line to get our food.

Ankh got his usual food as I was in the middle of getting mine until I got what I was gonna eat and walked to the table with Team RWBY and JNPR. Blake was reading a book, Ruby was talking with her sister, Weiss was eating her food. Ankh simply unwrapped the wrappers from most of the ice cream and began to eat each one as I calmly eat my breakfast.

"So Enrique, have you and Ankh found any of those bandage guys?" Ruby asked.

"Yummys." Ankh corrected as he ate his ice cream.

"None since that giant Yummy attack." I answered as I ate. "And those Tako cans can be helpful."

"Tako cans?"

I pointed at the vending machine that was by the corner. "Ankh can I borrow a Cell Medal?"

He looked at me before making his Greeed arm appear and shook it until a Cell Medal fell onto my hand.

I got up from my seat as I walked to the Vending Machine. Surprisingly, the vending machines were brought to the Academy by a 'vending company' but Ankh and I assumed it must be from the same company that the biker is working for.

I insert a Cell Medal and pressed a button.

 **TAKO CAN!**

A can was dispensed and grabbed it. I walked back to the others as I showed them the blue can.

"A soda can?"

I threw one to Ruby. "Open it." I said.

Ruby looks at the can before she opened it. Before the others knew it, it became that hovering robotic octopus as it flew around Ruby.

"Aww it's so cute!" Ruby said.

"Interesting for something that small to become that path during the battle of yours." Weiss remarked as the Tako bot was in front of Weiss and did one thing. It spit ink at her face, making the others laugh except Blake who was reading her book.

"It seem to have mind of it's own…Princess," Ankh chuckle with sarcasm.

"Why the nerve of this machine!" Weiss said.

I open my hand as it flew to my hand before going back into the can form. "It requires a Cell Medal to bring out the bots." I explained. "If we use regular coins, we will just get drinks instead of the bots."

"So we can't have our own bots?" Yang said.

"Not unless you have a Cell Medals like Ankh." I pointed out.

"Don't think of asking me for more." Ankh scoffed.

They groaned knowing that they were about to ask him for a Cell Medal.

"What is the difference between a Yummy and a Greeed?" Ruby asked.

"The Yummies are manifestations of a person's desire." Ankh answered as he unwrapped another popsicle stick. "Imagine this popsicle stick as a Greeed. The ice represents the Cell while the stick represents the Core. The Cells stick to the Core, which is our center. It is what composed us Greeed. We also have a void in most of us." he continued. "We became bent on filling the void left in us Greeed by consuming the world, specifically humans, to feel what humans feel."

"Do you really enjoy ice cream that much?" Jaune asked.

Ankh stares at him before showing his Greeed Arm, "Do you want me to eat like this?" Ankh asked, placing his ice cream toward his Greeed hand as it devour the ice cream.

Jaune fainted as the others were shocked. I stopped Ankh from progressing any further as I moved his hand away from the ice cream. "A-Anyways like he said, the Greeed want to fill in that void they have within them. The Core Medals are what keeps them alive."

"I see…"

"Even your weapons can't hurt a Yummy." Ankh added.

"That too. I saw the officer shoot the first Yummy I fought and it made it look like mere scratches." I said. "Even myself when I shot the Yummy. It wasn't fazed by it, only to make it more angry."

"I see…" Ruby pondered.

"So Ankh, did you possess the officer that the news talked about?" Yang asked.

"Only way to keep him alive." I said. "As long as Ankh is connected to him, the officer he is in control of stays alive but if away from him, he will die in minutes."

"Basically Ankh stays, officer lives. Ankh leaves, officer dies?" Pyrrha guessed. I nodded.

"Does the officer have a name?" Ren asked.

Ankh made his arm appear as he moved it close to his head. "This human's name is Nathan Westborn." he answered. "Hmph, an officer for 2 years."

"Wait how can you know this?" Ruby asked.

"Going through his memories." he answered. "So quiet down so I can see more memories." he became focused as he goes through more memories. "Born here in Vale. As the rest I rather ignore."

"You clearly don't care about people do you?" Blake narrowed her eyes as she closed her book. "What about Faunus?"

"They are people yet different than us Greeed." Ankh scoffed. "We have full on power and details of animals." He looked at me. "Hand me a paper."

I nodded as I handed him a pencil and paper. We watched him draw for 4 minutes until we all saw images of four humanoids. "Uva the Insect Greeed. Kazari, the Feline Greeed. Mezool, the Fish Greeed. and Gamel, the Beast Greeed." Ankh listed until he pointed at himself. "I am a Bird Greeed. Each of us Greeed have 3 parts of an animal."

"I see…"

"So you are much more different than the Faunus?" Weiss questioned.

"Much more. We aren't like you humans or the Faunus." Ankh said as he got up. "Now let's go Enrique, we have work to do."

I nodded as I followed once more.

* * *

 _The eight were quiet upon hearing Ankh's words. "So the Greeed are very dangerous." Pyrrha said. "But if Enrique encounters one he might not have a chance. He is new to fighting after all." she pointed out._

" _It too bad we can't use the belt like him." Ruby said._

" _He has a reason." Blake said as she was reading. "Enrique follows Ankh like a lost lamb."_

 _They looked at her. "What do you mean by 'lost lamb'?"_

" _He has no desires because…." she lowered her book. "He lost his family. He told me that his mother and sister died in an accident, leaving him the only survivor. He thinks he was responsible for their deaths."_

 _This causes them to have sad expressions on their faces._

" _He has been in regret and grief for 5 years." she added. "The reason why he is with that Ankh is because he believes that Ankh will help him survive."_

" _I agree with you there. We should do something to help him out without him being treated like some pack mule to Ankh." Yang said._

 _Ruby then raised her arm. "Then I declare that we help Enrique out even if Ankh tells us not to." she declared. "All in favor?"_

 _They raised their hands. "Then let's follow them!" WIth that Team RWBY followed the two as Team JNPR went began to talking but what none of the students didn't see was a feline-like humanoid eyeing each student behind a window until he saw one eating a large amount of pancakes. A girl with short orange hair._

" _ **Seems like I found the perfect host."**_ _he said before walking away._

* * *

 **CURRENT CORE MEDALS:**

 **Taka**

 **Tora**

 **Batta**

 **Kamakiri**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"I never thought I'd have to see that ugly mug of yours so soon…Kazari." Ankh whispered, but I was still near enough to hear the name, causing me to cough out another bite of the bread that I was eating.

"Ah, ah, ah! I can't just let you spoil my fun yet. You're still far too weak to even scratch the surface of what that armor can do. When you finally feel like trading blows with me, I'll let you know." He chuckled as he swivelled to face Ankh, who by now was just standing like an unmoving statue.

' _There is a Kougami here in this world!?'_ I exclaimed in thought.

 **Next Time: Saving a Friend from a Cat Yummy**

* * *

 **A/N:** I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter as well as the battle against the giant Yummy. Don't forget to check out my other stories and look forward to my upcoming Kamen Rider Drive x Hyperdimension Neptunia crossover **, Kamen Rider Dark Drive: Hyperdimension Road.** I will see you all in the next chapter. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	4. Chapter 4: Saving a Friend from a Yummy!

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the fourth chapter of OOO! Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]). Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we?

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

REWRITTEN 10/1/15, 2:57pm

* * *

You know, when I first came here to Beacon and realized that this was actually a combat school, I never really had any illusions that the training was ever going to be easy. I was painfully reminded of that reality as I found myself being pushed back by the drone I was sparring with, my Medajalibur skidding to the side as I fell flat on my back.

"You got your ass handed to you by a machine for the tenth time already, pathetic." Ankh said, rolling his eyes.

"I can try again…" I groaned out, until I was floored for the second time. "Damn it…"

Ankh scoffed as he lifted me up before jabbing a finger on my chest. "Don't try to wear yourself out," he said, "just remember you'll be fighting more battles in the future. If things escalate into an all-out war – and if I know my old cohorts, it will – then Vale is gonna be in the center of it all.

I held my tongue as Ankh continued to sneer at me and my atrocious skills, somewhat sceptical that the conflict with the Greeed would even go that far.

Suddenly, Ankh blinked and pivoted his head to the window. "What's wrong, Ankh?" I asked.

"Nothing." He muttered as he walked on ahead.

"Uh…okay." Seeing that there was nothing else to do (and that my back was still sore) I sheathed my weapon and followed my de facto bodyguard

Little did we know at that moment that there was someone observing us from afar and was lounging languidly on a tree branch. The figure sighed as he stretched his arms up. **"Okay, let's get this party started."**

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Saving a Friend from a Cat Yummy**

The cafeteria today wasn't as packed as I had expected it to be, with the present students eating and going about their time through conversation. As me and my irritable companion walked through the tables lining the hall, we were able to attract some eyes and whispers.

I caught a faint clicking sound not unlike that of a camera going off; probably a scroll. I was curious as to why some of the students would take pictures of me and Ankh together; maybe they have something like Facebook here? If so, why would they…?

Wait…oh hell no!

"They're already gossiping. Never really understood why humans can be so fickle with small talk." Ankh muttered again. I patted him on the shoulder to help brighten his mood, before quickly drawing my hand back; the glare he shot at my direction sending chills down my spine.

When I finally came across the table that Team RWBY was occupying along with Team JNPR, the very first thing that caught my eye was a large stack of pancakes being heartily devoured by a girl that couldn't have been older than me. She had short orange hair, youthful freckles adorning her cheeks, and emerald green eyes. Her name escaped me since I barely interacted with the students; mostly thanks to Ankh, but I was sure that she belonged to JNPR as she was seated amongst them.

I leaned in closer to ask Ruby a question. "Hey uh, who's the girl with the pancakes? Can she…can she even eat that many? She might get sick."

"Who, Nora? Nah, you'd be surprised how much she can actually eat in one sitting. She can even slurp a whole plate up if she wanted." She answered with a smile. "I highly advise to not get in the way of her eating binge mind you. The last guy that did that got himself pummelled all the way to the infirmary."

Nora…oh that's right, Nora Valkyrie. Also, note to self: Do NOT grab the last pancake whenever she's around if still wanted to maintain feeling from the waist down. I shuddered as that thought came to mind.

After the two of us took a seat from across the four girls, I plucked a small loaf of bread to munch on it. I shifted my gaze slowly across both groups. It was obvious that the eight of them were close; it almost made me want to be in my own Team. I brought my attention back to Nora as she was chatting away while her mouth was full of her breakfast; the listener was a boy with pale skin, magenta eyes and long black hair that was done in a ponytail.

I suddenly remembered that the guy's name was Lie Ren. "Hey uh…Ren right? You and Nora seem awfully close." I inwardly cringed at how I stuttered.

He turned towards my direction to meet my gaze, staring at me blankly before shifting into a friendlier expression. "Yeah, we've known each other since we were kids. You helped during the initiation right? Thanks."

I scratched the back of my head, flustered by the compliment. "Nah, I was just doing what I could. You guys did most of the work. I'm Enrique by the way." I held my hand out for a handshake.

Ren's smile widened as he accepted it.

As I took another bite of my bread, I turned to Ankh and cocked a brow. He was twitchily whirling his head around for some reason, I had a feeling that the guy could be paranoid but this was just pushing it.

Suddenly, I felt a firm hand grab my shoulder. I looked back to see who it was and found a young man looking down at me with a glazed look. He had neck-length blonde hair, tanned skin and sported on a toothy grin; his coal black eyes scanned me briefly before he spoke up. "Mind if I sit with ya?"

I swallowed my chewed food to answer. "Uh, yeah sure." I inched to the side a bit to make room as the guy sat down between me and Ankh, whose eyes had widened to that of saucers as he noticed the newcomer. He quickly reverted back to his calm mask as the blonde regarded him in turn; the latter's grin widening at him.

It was only after he was settled that I noted that the kid wasn't wearing an Academy uniform. He had on a black jacket over a yellow flannel shirt, black denims and a baseball cap. He had a few accessories on him; a silver necklace and a few rings on his fingers. Either he wasn't a student, or he simply decided to forego the dress code for today.

Ankh managed to regain his voice after a few minutes. "I never thought I'd have to see that ugly mug of yours so soon…Kazari." Ankh whispered, but I was still near enough to hear the name, causing me to cough out another bite of the bread that I was eating. The girls quickly snapped to look at me as I held my chest to settle my breathing. Ruby was the first to stand up and walk up to me to pat my back.

Kazari twirled a lock of his hair with a finger as he leaned on the table, still grinning as he looked over the rest of the hall. "These kids are supposed to be Remnant's future defenders? How droll can these humans be?"

Ruby blinked as she heard the blonde say this, her hand still clutching my back. "Excuse me, but what do you mean?" The rest of RWBY leaned in closer as they too had just come to see Kazari, studying him. Blake's bow twitched as her brows became knit into a small scowl; she didn't like this boy's presence.

After a few pants, I turned to Kazari. "Please, don't cause any trouble. This doesn't have to go out of control."

Now, Team JNPR (save for Nora) began to take notice of the growing tension. Ankh looked away from our direction as I continued to reason with the Greeed, probably having a very good idea of what was about to happen. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

Kazari seemed to hesitate as he licked his lips. He rolled his eyes in thought before answering. "I'm just here to grab a snack that's all."

I let out a relieved sigh at this; he was just trying to get something to eat. So, what better place to grab a snack than the cafeteria?

…

Wait.

Never in my entire life have I ever felt the need to smack my head against the table; there's a first time for everything I guess. "You wouldn't?"

Kazari slowly put the hand that was playing with his hair out forward into a fist, before drawing out a shiny silver coin; a Cell Medal. He twirled the trinket between his fingers before looking towards Ankh. I pressed my lips in apprehension; this was going to end out badly if I didn't do anything soon.

The blonde Greeed chuckled as he amused himself with the medal. "So Ankh, lovin' the new look by the way. Not as grand as what you used to walk around in, but I guess beggars can't be choosers, am I right?" Ankh scoffed irritably as he got up and spared Kazari a piercing glare, the coldness in his eyes evident for me to see.

"Tch, so I take it you've found a host to feed off of?" Ankh haughtily looked down at his old acquaintance, who continued to play with the medal.

I quickly glanced around and noticed that both Teams were already close to drawing out their weapons, seemingly getting the hint that this guy was more than what he seemed. Only Nora was still munching away at her food, blissfully ignorant.

"This school is _filled_ to the brim with so much desire that I had trouble picking just one to make a host out of for today. But after relegating my options, I've decided to go with…her. " he lazily pointed to Nora with the Cell Medal in hand, causing Ren to react as he got in front of his dear friend.

"Whoever you are, you're not going anywhere near her." He stated coldly, I felt another chill as I caught his glare, even though it wasn't directed at me.

By now, Nora shot to attention and drew Magnhild out as she caught sight of everyone with their weapons drawn out. "Hey guys, are we gonna start breaking legs already? I thought we still had class."

I quickly stood up from my seat and held my hands up to reassure them. "Everybody just calm down, I think I can reason with him."

Weiss seemed to ignore me as she faced Kazari. "Are you a student here? Because you're not exactly dressed like one, well, there is him." She tilted her head towards Ankh, who didn't seem to care at all that the heiress had even mentioned him, his full attention being directed at the rogue feline.

"If you're not, then you're obviously trespassing. Get out before we call the authorities." I looked down at her hand and saw that she was gripping her sword tightly. I darted my eyes around the hall and back to find that a crowd was already forming around us. Great, this just keeps getting better and better.

I crept hastily to Ankh to whisper frantically, "Give me the Driver, hurry!"

"What did I say about giving me orders?" he admonished with a scowl, which I ignored. "We have to get Kazari out of here; this place is too crowded and I don't want there to be anyone getting hurt because of us. "

"And that is my problem, how?" he hissed. I was cut off from what I was about to say in reply as I heard a loud yawn escape from the other Greeed. After what felt like forever, Kazari slowly rose up from his seat before cracking his neck, an audible snap made Ruby and me wince. Realizing that diplomacy was now pointless, I unsheathed Medajalibur and drew it in front of me, ready to fight.

Kazari gave the growing crowd a once over before speaking again. "My, my, how cute. So this is what the humans have been up to for the past 800 years. Training children to fight the Grimm and prolong their boring, meaningless lives? Why, I'm actually kind of insulted that our old job has been taken over by such young kittens. Eh, Ankh?

The bird Greeed didn't give out any reaction as far as I could tell, but there was a spark of bitterness behind his eyes; however brief it may have been.

Everyone close enough to hear simply gaped at what had just been said. Even I was a bit taken aback by this revelation. The Greeed used to battle the Grimm? Guess that means I have to pry more answers from my avian friend.

As soon as Kazari finished speaking, his body became enveloped in a bright yellow light. The clinking of medals could be heard as they danced around him. Everyone backed away a fair distance as the light started to burn away at the table. There weren't any flames, but the edge was instantly seared off as the intensity could be felt throughout the hall.

After the light died down, we were all treated to a creature unlike anything that we had seen before (well, except me of course). Kazari's true form was menacing to say the least, his "hair" were nothing more than black tentacles sleeked back down to his shoulders. His head was feline in shape, with the ears to match (around the corner of my eye, Blake's bow twitched again) where several small holes ran down his forehead before stopping by the bridge of his nose. His mouth was open as he sighed, revealing his sharp canines. Heavy black armor adorned his torso up to his shoulders, with small sharp spikes jutting out and lining every inch. Larger spikes protruded out of the top of his arms, with his "hands" now transformed into paw-like knuckles, his razor sharp claws gleaming from what little light entered the hall. A simple belt with a hole in the buckle hugged his waist snugly, while his legs…

"So I guess that's what happens when you don't have all of your Cores, huh Kazari?" I asked, hoping that my voice didn't come out as shaken as it did. Indeed, Kazari's body from the waist down was quite repulsive to look at. Brown, tattered bandages were wrapped tightly around his legs and feet like a mummy, indicating his incomplete nature.

Kazari snorted in amusement as he looked at me; I mean _really_ _looked_ at me, his crimson eyes glowing menacingly as they tried to bear down deeply. Ruby quickly shuffled in front of me with Crescent Rose locked and loaded. She nodded to me as she glanced over her shoulder, with me nodding in kind.

" **So I guess you're the new OOO huh? I never would have expected Ankh would associate himself with a human again, not after what happened last time. I take it you remember that experience quite well. Don't you Ankh?"**

Ankh's frown deepened as he tried to penetrate through Kazari's smug, indifferent face, wanting nothing more than to drive his fist down the bastard's throat. Every student that had not vacated the hall to inform the staff or save their own skin was now armed to the teeth and ready to bring the Greeed down, even Nora was swinging Magnhild around excitedly. Probably half the student body of Beacon was now surrounding the lone Greeed.

With such odds against him, we might just get out of this unscathed.

The sound of several bodies falling to the ground simultaneously shattered me out of whatever spell I was in, as Kazari had instantly vanished from his spot. It probably took us about a second before everyone who was still conscious looked around in bewilderment. Several of their classmates were now lying stationary on the ground, their uniforms ripped and torn to show a multitude of cuts and gashes. They didn't even have time to consciously tap into their aura to defend from the attacks as the Greeed mercilessly clawed away at them before they fell.

"Wh-What the dust!?" Jaune cried out, his reaction being shared by everyone else inwardly.

I quickly darted my head around to see where Kazari went, until my eyes landed to across the hall, where he was lying on a table by his side with his arm cradling his head. It was the table that was near the exit, probably to stop anyone from getting out – or in.

Everyone soon followed my gaze as they looked on at the creature; either in fear or anger, I wasn't quite certain. But Weiss was the first to speak.

"Y-You monster! What did you do? H-How-?" the hand holding her Myrtenaster was shaking furiously as she pointed her weapon at the creature.

Ankh was the one who cut her off. "Kazari is capable of moving past the speed of sound. Out of all of us Greeed, he is the fastest." Apprehension seemed to creep up on all of the others as he trailed off, dreading this new information.

Only Ruby seemed unfazed as she smirked confidently. "Well then, if speed is this guy's game then I have this in the bag!"

Yang pumped her fist in pride at her sister. "You got this Ruby! Show him who's the fastest there is!"

Without wasting another minute, Ruby activated her Semblance and vanished as well. I gawked at the spot on where she once stood before reeling my eyes back to Kazari, who was still lying on the table wagging his foot in the air in bored contemplation.

"She's in over her head." Ankh muttered cynically, with Yang letting out a bark of laughter.

"You haven't seen anything yet bird man! Ruby's gonna cleave that guy-" the blonde bombshell was cut off by a sight that she hoped would never have to give her nightmares. It all happened in a span of – well – I'm not exactly well versed in how to measure how fast something goes, but in layman's terms it would have to be…fast.

Really, REALLY, REALLY, _REALLY_ , _FAST_!

It was like Kazari didn't even move as we saw what looked like a double jumping up to meet Ruby head on. I couldn't see her face, but it probably would have been gaping in surprise as she collided head first into what I could only describe was a maelstrom of slashes and strikes that the Greeed rained on her, with Crescent Rose being knocked out of her hands before lodging itself in the ground with a resounding clash.

Yang didn't even have time to call out her name as Ruby plummeted into the ground in a bloody heap. Letting out another yawn, Kazari rose up again and was now standing atop the table. He stretched and groaned as if he was just trying to pop out some old bones. Literally burning with hate as she activated her Semblance, Yang was about ready to pound the feline humanoid into a bloody paste before the latter drew his hand out without even looking.

Ankh's brows shot up in familiarity before he grabbed my arm and jumped us out of the way as a powerful cyclone of wind ploughed through the remaining students, tearing through that direction before it grew to encompass the entire hall. Some of the students had tried to resist and even deflect the attack, but what they didn't know was that Kazari mixed his own energy into the air currents to boost the power. Panes of glass shattered, tables flew and broke apart as they collided with one another, metal railings were dislodged and bent out of place or joined the flight of debris.

When it finally subsided, the cafeteria was nothing short of a disaster zone as a literal storm had just run through it. All but one (well, me and Ankh too) was standing defiantly as she held her ground against their adversary, unwilling to let the transgression of hurting her beloved sister pass by without some well-deserved retribution.

Kazari gave her a once over before jetting past the ruined furniture and rubble to hit her straight in the gut; he was too fast. With Ruby, she may have been able to anticipate the blow, but Kazari had proven that, if he moves, you better bet all or nothing that he's gonna hit you – hard – whether you like it or not. Yang buckled from the pain as blood spilled out of her mouth. Aura may be able to help the average Hunter withstand attacks that would normally kill a human being, but even that has its limits against a sufficient force. She went down when Kazari tapped her lightly on the forehead.

During all of the chaos, me and Ankh (well, mostly me) took the initiative and pulled at Ren and Nora to escape with us. We couldn't reach Jaune and/or Pyrrha on time, but they would have wanted us to retreat if it meant denying Kazari what he wanted (at least that was what Ren said). I still couldn't help myself a sharp pang of guilt as I looked back at the cafeteria, leaving Ruby and the others behind. I had failed them. I should have transformed when I had the chance. Maybe if I had been more vigilant, then none of this would have even happened. But as it all went, there was truly nothing I could have done without transforming. We ran and ran until we reached the promenade.

Hang on, this was weird; where are all of the other students? That was just a part of what my scatter-brained head was pondering about as the four of us stopped to catch our breaths. Ankh however, seemed livid.

"Where in the hell is that damn Ozpin when you need him!?" he yelled out, causing me to snap out of my musings. Ren was the one to address the red Greeed. "Any of the professors should have responded to a disturbance at the cafeteria shortly after that Kazari guy appeared, but they didn't. I don't know how or why but-"

Ankh kicked a wall, leaving a small crack behind. "This is exactly why I didn't want to limit myself to this damn school! If Enrique would have just gone with my plans, we'd be swimming in Cell Medals by now and I would be able to regain most if not all of my full power!"

I reeled back in disgust at such callousness from Ankh's tone; how could he be so heartless? I slowly walked up to him and grabbed his collar, tightening my grip as my anger continued to boil.

"What?" he asked in irritation, before a punch from me graced his cheek. It didn't seem to faze him, but I felt him flinch a little before his face contorted into a hard frown. Ren and Nora could only stare in silence at the scene, not that I cared. The only thing that I cared about was saving lives. That's all what I wanted. That's what I decided to dedicate my life to after having lost everything that was precious to me, and seeing Ankh just talking about such lives as if they didn't even matter made me more than a little ticked off.

Okay, I was really, _really_ ticked off.

He kicked me away, but Ren caught me before I could meet the ground. The black haired teen didn't seem all that pleased at what had just transpired, and was now glowering at Ankh in disapproval. I gave him a nod of thanks as he helped me back up to my feet. I then regarded my so-called bodyguard with as much vitriol as I was able.

"Don't you care?" I spat with venom.

"About what, them?" Ankh snapped at me as he pointed at the other two, with Ren standing protectively in front of Nora.

"Yeah, if what Kazari said was true, then weren't you guys like…the first Hunters or something? You used to protect people from the Grimm too, didn't you?"

Ankh paused before releasing a bark of laughter that was loud enough that it would have alerted Kazari to their location; did he _want_ him to find us? Some part of my mind could only agree to that theory. Ren and Nora limited themselves to observing in silence, with growing curiosity as to what Kazari even meant with what he mentioned earlier pertaining to the Greeed. It would seem that Ankh was the only one available that could satisfy that curiosity.

"Protect? Defend? Stop with the idealistic diatribe kid. The people who created us only did so to serve their own interests, everything else was just collateral. In the end, it was man's greed that served as their own undoing, with our former masters paying the ultimate price for meddling in forces that they had no hope of comprehending."

I was about to lay down another retort when we heard the scraping of metal nearby. Looking around, I, Ren and Nora lurched back in dread as we found Kazari leaning against one of the pillars. He stifled a yawn as he seemed to be biding his time watching us. Ankh stepped forward to address him.

"So Kazari, I take it those humans weren't able to amuse you to your heart's content?"

Kazari straightened as he walked up to us slowly. None of us dared to run; it would have been a futile gesture either way. **"I never really understood why humans continue to work themselves to the bone. Wouldn't it just be better if they all just lied down, did nothing and die like the sacks of flesh that they are."**

I gritted my teeth. "Only someone without a shred of emotion would say that. I bet you've never even felt anything real in your entire life."

Both Ankh and Kazari stopped at that, with the three of us stepping back in caution. I bit back a curse at my loose tongue. Kazari was the first to break out of his stupor and chuckled lightly at my remark.

" **I'm sorry, 'real' emotions? Tell me OOO, what do real emotions even feel like, hm? I certainly don't know; as you so confidently have claimed, so why don't you enlighten me, will you?"** there was an edge of bitterness and anger in Kazari's voice, as opposed to the lazy drawl that he would usually pepper his speech with.

I glanced at Ankh, whose head was hung as if deep in thought before raising his eyes at Greeed.

"Do you still intend to make a host out of the girl?" he muttered noncommittally, driving Ren and Nora into a stance to defend themselves; the former being uncertain on who either of them he had to shoot first.

Kazari paused before tilting his head. **"Of course,"** I narrowed my eyes; there was that drawl again, **"fighting those children has really taken a toll on me, so I need the extra Cell Medals now more than ever. Now, if you don't mind."** He drew out once Cell and held it up for all to see as he stepped closer to Nora. She drew her hammer to the side, ready to slam the monster's head in and crack it open. Ren was now pointing his guns directly at Kazari.

"Stop, I'm warning you!" it was a gamble he was willing to take, maybe these Greeed weren't really all that invincible at point blank. Kazari tilted his head before spreading his arms out invitingly. Ren was only too happy to oblige as he proceeded to feed an entire barrage of StormFlowers' clips into the Greeed's midsection. It didn't even push the rogue feline back, with him taking every shot like it was nothing.

We could only gawk as Kazari shrugged off what was essentially Dust enhanced rounds. Ren was the most flabbergasted; nothing short of a King Taijitu's shell should be able to withstand such force, especially at point blank.

Before he could even reload, Kazari grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up. Nora drew Magnhild back; ready to smash the Greeed into paste for all that he had done to her friends. The unscrupulous humanoid simply wagged his finger at her as he held out the struggling Ren in front of him as a human shield.

This was it; I had to act fast. I looked towards Ankh, who simply stared on at the scene with a blank look on his face. I fought back my anger as I held my hand out, silently motioning for the Driver.

He turned to me and seemed to deliberate for a moment, before holding his Greeed arm out and releasing the OOO Driver from safekeeping. He threw the device at my direction and into my very willing hands.

Unfortunately, Kazari spotted me as I slapped the Driver around my waist. He cursed inwardly as this only meant that his entertainment was nearing its end; how he would have loved to prolong their suffering. Still, he needed the medals for his plans.

Sighing, he chucked Ren to the nearby wall, with the teen colliding just hard enough for him to be disoriented. Nora's cry of her friend's name got caught in her throat as Kazari grabbed her neck and lifted her up. Nora punched and kicked away at her captor futilely. I only had enough time to slot my medals and tilting the buckle before she froze as a coin slot appeared on her forehead. Damn it! At the same time that I took the scanner out of its holster, the rogue was already bringing the medal up close to her head. As I ran the scanner through as fast as my muscles allowed me to, the cell medal unceremoniously fell in with a clunk.

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

"No!" I heard Ren shout, a sentiment I would have shared if it weren't for the forming of my armor. As it finished fully materializing, Kazari dropped Nora on the ground. She writhed and convulsed in agony before grey bandages emerged from her skin – on her arms, legs, neck and even face – they clung to her like parasites giving off malevolent energy as the Yummy was starting to develop inside her.

Ren could only goggle on in abject horror at what was happening; this had to be a nightmare. It just had to be. Not long after, the creature that was possessing Nora stood up in a hunch, growling hungrily as she licked her lips; her eyes madly darting around as if in search of something.

Kazari crossed his arms as he regarded his spawn, before tilting his head to the side. **"You know what to do. Now get going!"**

The Yummy nodded dumbly as it/she sauntered away, before leaping high from roof to roof and disappearing over the wall. Ren's mouth hung in dejection at her disappearing form before closing his eyes tightly to fight back hot tears. As if he hadn't performed a series of grave crimes just now, Kazari leaned back against a pillar with his arms behind his head to relax.

" **So…OOO, I take it you're ready to fight me now?"**

The only answer I gave him was me pouncing on him, but he stepped aside in a flash to wag his finger again. **"Ah, ah, ah! I can't just let you spoil my fun yet. You're still far too weak to even scratch the surface of what that armor can do. When you finally feel like trading blows with me, I'll let you know."** He chuckled as he swivelled to face Ankh, who by now was just standing like an unmoving statue.

" **Ankh, you seem quite frustrated with these humans. Why not join back into our group?"** I gasped at the offer; with Ren still reeling in from the shock that his best friend and probably the only girl he had ever allowed into his heart just ran off to God knows where, doing God knows what to notice **.**

Ankh rolled his eyes, as if seriously considering; this was just like in that episode in the show. Goddamit, I hope this turns out exactly as that one did.

"I'll think about it." He responded, almost like he was simply talking about a business deal with an old partner. Ren turned to face the two Greeed; I never would have imagined those magenta eyes of his to flare with so much rage. He was ready to lunge at them when he was pushed back a few steps by a gust of wind.

Kazari was gone.

Still, that didn't exactly keep Ren from tackling Ankh over to grapple with him. Okay, Ren was the one doing the grappling; Ankh was just taking all of the punishment the enraged teen was dealing out without a care.

"You bastard! This is all your goddamn fault! You son of a bitch, now Nora's out there doing who knows what all because of that monster and now you're planning on joining up with more of them. I'LL KILL YOU!" Ren's fist met with Ankh's face for every word he spat out and was about to throw another punch when I grabbed hold to stop him.

Small tears rolled down from Ren's cheeks as I beheld the mask of despair on his face through the Taka lenses. I was already barely holding on from what happened to Ruby and the others, and this was all it took before I too broke down to my knees to help comfort him.

"Come on, we have to go…" I whispered to him as I held his shoulder firmly. It felt like a long time before he spared Ankh another glare before standing back up. I quickly caught sight of StormFlowers scattered near the wall where Ren was thrown against, and ran to pick them up before handing the both of them back to their rightful owner. He sniffed before quickly reloading them with new clips and holstered one, but keeping hold of the other. I whirled around in time to catch Ankh sitting up and wiping the blood running down his nose. He stared at the red liquid as if he was just seeing it for the first time. I walked up to him as I de-transformed, seeing no point to the armor right now.

"You okay?" I asked in concern, no longer mustering the nerve to stay angry at him. If anything, I may have just struck a sour chord when I made that crack about the Greeed not feeling anything. He shifted his eyes to meet my own from the spectacle that was Westborn's blood before lumbering himself back up.

We both heard a clicking noise as we turned to the source, where a stone faced Lie Ren was drawing his guns straight for the Greeed's head. Ankh just blinked apathetically at the sight before turning away to saunter off.

"Don't walk away from me monster!" he called out in fervour. I winced as Ankh stopped mid-step, before looking over his shoulder to eye the boy with disinterest.

"What's going to happen to Nora? How can we…how can I get her back to normal?" it was clear as day that Ren simply wasn't thinking straight as his hand holding up the other pair of his weapons was shaking. That made me all kinds of uncomfortable, as I had a feeling that he was a rational kind of guy. Never a good thing whenever they were the ones to lose it.

I waited for Ankh to answer before I sighed in resignation to answer for him. ""The Yummy is developing inside her even as we speak. That is the kind of Yummies that Kazari spawns. For it to fully mature, it will forcibly drive the host; meaning Nora, to do, live out, or consume whatever she desires the most."

Ren paused in thought before comprehension seemed to dawn on his face. I caught on to it immediately. "Ren, what does Nora desire the most?"

"Sweets…Nora loves sweets, but mostly pancakes." He pointed out as he lowered his gun. I walked up to him to grasp his shoulders.

"Ren, I promise you. We are going to save her, alright?" I said with even more fervour, determined to follow through even if it might end badly.

The dual wielder remained steadfast. "What's going to happen when the Yummy matures?"

I pressed my lips tightly together. "Nora…will be consumed by the Yummy and…well, you can probably guess – hey, hey wait!" Ren was already marching off as quickly as his legs could take him. He had already recovered just enough of his strength to try his hand at tracking Nora's whereabouts when I ran up in front of him.

"Ren, wait! Look, I know you're angry and in pain. But I want to help, I really do!"

"How can I trust you when you're with…him?" he pointed a gun at Ankh's direction instead of a finger to emphasize his point, with me heaving a heavy sigh.

"Look, I know Ankh can be…okay he's a jerk. But I don't _expect_ you to trust either of us. I…haven't exactly been doing a good job of earning it lately." I hung my head in shame, recalling how utterly useless I had been back at the cafeteria.

Ren seemed conflicted as he studied me for a moment, before gently resting a hand on my shoulder. I didn't bother looking up as I knew that that would only make me look like I was begging, and if there was ever one thing that I would never do to earn someone's trust or forgiveness, it was beg.

Ren let out a sigh of his own to help calm himself. "Well…I'm sorry too. I guess, I went a little overboard back there." He felt equally shameful for his outburst, but he didn't even need to show it for me to know, as we might as well have been in the same boat.

I beamed as I looked up. "There's no use moping about what's already happened. Kazari can wait. Right now, we take care of the Yummy and save Nora. Are you up for that?" I held out my hand out for a shake, which Ren easily accepted.

"Definitely! So uh…how exactly _do_ we save her?"

I clicked my tongue as I tilted my head. "Well, if I recall…the safest way for that would be to draw the Yummy out of her body. The best way to do that is to provoke it; either with a fight or with bait. Ren, where do you think Nora would most likely go to eat pancakes?"

Ren didn't even need a moment to reply. "There's a pancake diner in Vale that me and Nora frequent. That would definitely be the first place for her to go."

I grinned, excellent! And I know just how to get there faster. I motioned for the other two to follow me, with Ren keeping a reasonable distance from Ankh. We made a quick stop to the cafeteria first to see how everyone was doing. To all of our utter relief, everyone was still alive save for having just endured a nasty beating. I walked up to Ruby as she was lying on a stretcher next to her still unconscious sister.

She was heavily bandaged, although unlike Nora, her's were more for actual medical reasons than any pursuit of desire. "You gonna be alright? I'm sorry I wasn't much help earlier." I grasped her hand gently, fearful that I might just do worse if my grip was any firmer.

She shook her head lightly through the pain she was in, a kind smile adorning her lips. "It's alright. We all did our best back there. Unfortunately, it just wasn't enough…where's Nora?"

My shoulders fell as I hung my head. "She's…been turned into a Yummy host." If Ruby would have allowed herself a gasp, she might have, but her condition had determined otherwise. I quickly reassured her though. "But don't worry, me and Ren will bring her back safe and sound, and to her old self. You'll see!" I put on my best smile, desperately hoping that she wouldn't see it for the façade that it was.

Her own smile widened a bit before wishing the both of us good luck.

* * *

After Ren had finished checking up on his Team (Jaune had suffered a mild concussion and Pyrrha was attending to him while sustaining only minor injuries), when he had informed them on what happened to their teammate, they were incensed; not only at what Kazari did, but at how Ankh had seemingly done nothing to convince one of his own to leave her and them all alone. He neglected to mention me however, even when they asked about what I had done, he simply answered with the truth; that Kazari was just far too powerful for either of us to take on before he escaped. While it was quite true, I still wouldn't have minded if I had shared the blame. Now, this may seem like me trying to martyr myself out, but I was just trying to take responsibility for my inaction. I still think I could have done more than just annoy the hell out of the feline Greeed.

Oh well, the important thing right now was to search for and save Nora. Ankh had opted to stay behind to better think on Kazari's offer, not that Ren was complaining. But it would have been nice if there were more of us to cover more ground in case things went south.

With only me and Ren on the case, we dashed at first opportunity to one of the vending machines that housed the Candroids. Handing Ren a Cell Medal, I let him do the honors. We then each took a can and pulled the tabs at the same time.

 **TAKO CAN**

 **TAKO CAN**

"Help us find any nearby Yummies in the city. If you've spotted one, inform us immediately." I ordered, which they obeyed without question as they flew out of sight to scour the city. I then took out another Cell Medal. Only this time, instead of ordering more Candroids, I pressed the Multi TaS Sensor to active its bike mode.

Ren couldn't help but whistle at the machine. "Nice ride."

"Thanks!" I offered him the second helmet before the two of us rode off to Vale, ready for anything.

We hoped.

* * *

 _Meanwhile… (Please play Kougami OST)_

 _The man continued to gaze through the window at the city below as he was baking a cake._

" _Kougami, you have a video call from Ozpin." his assistant informed._

" _Put it up." he said as he placed the batter in the mini oven._

 _A screen lowered itself in front Koigami's desk before displaying the two people that he had been expecting to speak with the most as of recent. "Long time no seem Ozpin and Glynda." he said happily._

" _Likewise Kougami, I see you are still enjoying that hobby of yours," Ozpin chuckled as his eyes wandered to the oven by the foot of the screen by his end._

 _Kougami could only laugh in agreement. "You know me Ozpin. When something is born…"_

" _It is considered their birthday," Ozpin finished._

" _So what brings you to calling me, old friend?" Kougami asked._

" _It involves…OOO." The headmaster uttered darkly, his mood giving way for a very amused chuckle from the President of the Kougami Foundation._

" _I take it you've met the new one?" he rubbed his mitted hands together as he opened the oven door, revealing a steaming cake; freshly baked and permeating with its succulent aroma the old man's sharp sense of smell._

 _Ozpin smiled at his old friend's passion for baking. "I did, along with the Greeed that refers to himself as Ankh."_

" _I see. You have noticed lately that I have been contributing my assistance towards the boy's progress correct?" Kougami explained, "In fact, I seemed to have recalled my company making a delivery of vending machines to your school about a week ago."_

" _Indeed I have, and it was quite amusing when I first laid eyes on those…what do you call them? Candroids?" Ozpin's features quickly darkened again after a nod from the President. "Kougami, an incident has just occurred at my school. One of the Greeed had managed to infiltrate and blend in with the students before dispatching them with relative ease." Glynda narrowed her eyes in guilt as she had done nothing to help the students._

 _Ozpin and Glynda; along with the rest of the faculty, had been busy evacuating as many of the students and staff as they could earlier when the caught wind of Kazari, essentially leaving the remaining students to fend for themselves without informing them. While this may seemed cruel in plain sight, it was only natural that Hunters would be prepared to take such initiative and compromise. They were a combat school, and such a situation could be counted as training._

 _That mindset had backfired horribly when they came back to assess the damage. Part of the reason they took such a risk was that they had no clear idea how to personally gauge the Greeed's fighting prowess, and as opportunity might have it, it was as good a time as any to see how these creature's fared against a group of hunters-in-training. They got more than what they bargained for as they were forced to watch Kazari decimate through them and easily destroying a portion of the school._

 _Ozpin rubbed his eyes as he let it sink in deeper; another mistake…just one more to add to the list._

" _Rest assured old friend, I am sure that OOO will handle the situation eventually," Kougami assured him._

 _The headmaster and mistress shared a look. "I hope so. Again, I thank you for compensating for the damages and medical fees involved. I simply cannot repay you enough." Ozpin bowed his head as he expressed his gratitude, but there was an edge of unease to his voice. The President waved his hand dismissively as if he hadn't just footed a rather exorbitant bill._

 _When the transmission ended, Kougami looked to his assistant. "Whose birthday is it today?" he asked as he began to make yet, another cake._

" _Ah, let's see…" the assistant said as she scanned through a list of names._

* * *

Ren and I were driving on the road, keeping our eyes peeled and on the lookout for anything that could lead to Nora. Two hours had gone by since Nora was made a host, and by now the Yummy could have already matured. We managed to check out Nora's favourite diner. The place was thrashed beyond repair to say the least, with the patrons raving about a girl that had torn through the establishment and terrorizing the customers for their pancakes. The search consisted of other dead ends where we came upon similar scenarios.

I could tell that Ren was getting antsy about Nora, but I couldn't just ask him outright about it. I figured that the sooner we found her, the better it would be to fix this whole mess.

We were about to go turn around another corner when one of the Tako Cans hovered above us. It gave us the signal to follow it, and follow we did. By the time we reached our destination, the sight that greeted us made both of our jaws drop.

Nora; or who I _hoped, begged and pleaded_ was Nora, had ballooned in obesity. Her uniform had long been torn open and was now close to snapping off completely judging from her massive girth; the only things that seemed to still be keeping her modesty were the bandages that had increased in number all over her body. She was salivating like crazy; crumbs and bits of food were latched disgustingly on her person, her eyes were glazed with madness as she eyed the other Tako Can as it kept jumping out of her grasp while in sleep mode to help lead her on.

"FOOD!" she bellowed, causing Ren to cringe at her sweet voice having been distorted by her state.

"Tallyho Ren! We might just reach her yet." I revved the engine as we sped to catch up to where Nora was.

We braked in front of the adjacent store that was next to the sweet shop that Nora had raided (I pity the fool that was struggling to untangle himself out of a large vat of taffy). By the time we got off, Nora had already grabbed hold of the can nice and tight, with the machine no longer fighting as it sensed our presence. With enthusiasm unlike that of a child, Nora unlatched the tab from the can, before reeling back as the Tako Candroid sprayed some ink on her face.

She spluttered in disgust before letting out a loud growl in frustration.

"Nora!" Ren called out loud, catching his maddened friend's undivided; and preferably unwanted, attention. "Nora, you have to stop. I know you're still in there, try to fight it. Let us help you."

He crept ever so slowly towards her, careful not to set any danger senses that the Yummy may have had. Nora just looked on with a dumbfounded expression before her eyes hardened; a bright yellow glow emanating from them. Uh oh! I just remembered that something like this happened in episode 3, with the glowing eyes only meaning one thing; it was powering up for an attack.

"Hit the deck!" I pushed Ren to the ground as Nora shot at us with a yellow burst of energy that was in the shape of a medal.

She let out a huff of annoyance before resuming her hunt for more food, before feeling two hands grabbing her leg. Ren held on for dear life; for Nora's life, as he tried to reason with it/her again. "Nora, please, you don't have to do this! If you want more pancakes, we have more at Beacon. Just come back with us so we can help yo-" a swift kick to the face was all that the Yummy could give in response, driving him back where he collided with me and into a heap.

For a brief moment, we feared that it was going to charge up another attack, only for Nora to convulse violently like she was being pulled apart. It was then that the Yummy revealed itself as it literally oozed out of her body; fully formed, but still leaps away from being mature. The heavy clinking of Cell Medals accompanied its arrival. I had to fight back the urge to rub my eyes in disbelief – it looked just like the Yummy from the show. It sure as hell wasn't a guy in a costume if that's what you're thinking. It was large and hulking as opposed to how fat its host was, the skin was blue in color with sandy gold trimmings, with the only article of clothing it seemed to have aside from the belt on its waist being yellow gloves and boots.

He was cruelly holding Nora up by her arm tauntingly, with her being just conscious enough to wheeze in pain at the added weight she gained like she was close to vomiting.

"Ren…please…it hurts…"

Both of us drew out our weapons; my Driver and his StormFlowers. It was only after rifling through my pockets did I recall that Ankh still had my Cores. I bit back a curse as I was limited to my Medajalibur again. "Nora, fight him back!" I yelled out encouragingly. I knew it was no use, but maybe she could try.

Nora coughed as she struggled to escape from the Yummy's grasp, who was now leering at us hungrily. Oh God…

"Damn it, I can't get a clear shot without hitting her." Ren gritted out, while I too could only standby helplessly as the Yummy let out a throaty chuckle before re-entering Nora. Gone was the pained wheezing, which was now replaced by a throaty growl. Her eyes glowed bright yellow again as she roared.

"Food, more food!" the Yummy possessed Nora bellowed as she ran off in search for more food (you know, even as she was now, _damn_ that girl could move). I raised a hand up to massage my eyes; this just can't get any – _oops_! _OOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH NO_! I am not going to say that, not even think it!

"We have to get that thing out of Nora! If it keeps forcing her to overeat she might-"

"Less talking more running Ren!" we both exchanged nods before sprinting behind Nora's trail.

The chase was on, with Nora ramming carelessly through the crowd of civilians to get away. Ren was faster than me as I lagged a bit behind, until I could no longer resist the urge to stop and catch my breath. The dual wielder looked back as he sensed that I stopped and goggled at my hunched form.

"What's wrong?" he ran a hand through my back to help ease my breathing. I wheezed before I got my voice back.

"I'm not…too cut out for this." Ren's brows furrowed as I was panting in exhaustion. Considering everything we've been through today, I was beginning to wonder how _he_ could still be standing.

"Well, you did just fine when you were wearing your armor."

"That's just it…I can only do my best _because_ of the armor. I don't have aura or semblance like the rest of you guys."

Ren gaped at my revelation. "Then, if you can't use aura and don't have a semblance, how can you fight?"

When I finally managed to get my breathing under control, I heaved out a deep and tired sigh. I rose up to look him directly in the eyes; eyes that weren't holding back in scrutinizing me. "To be honest, I don't know. But it's better than doing nothing. I'm here aren't I? I wasn't able to do anything back at the cafeteria, which is why I'm doing everything I can right now to make up for all of it by saving Nora. If there is a hand reaching for help, and I don't reach out when I can, the regret would make me wish I were dead...I reach out my hand, because all I want is to help."

Ren seemed to consider me as he paused in thought, before his lips curled into a small smile. "Come on!" he patted my back as we moved on to make up for lost time. As luck would have it, the Tako Candroids shortly hovered above us again to follow them.

Our search led us under a large bridge near a canal. The Tako Cans were sure that they had tracked the Yummy here. We whirled around as we crept quietly, keeping our guard up. It was only when I felt Ren's arm grab my shoulder tightly that he pointed me to where he was looking; leaning against the wall was Kazari in his human form, eyeing us lazily.

"Yo OOO! I see you and your friend have been busy." He grinned toothily at us, a sentiment we did not return.

"No thanks to you!" Ren spat out with venom, both of guns cocked and ready as he pointed them at the blonde. Kazari pursed his lips as he straightened and started to walk up leisurely to us. For every step he took, we backed away; ready to fight to our last breath if it ever came to that.

"Come on, you two don't need to be so nervous. I can be a pretty amiable guy once you get to know me." The both of us inwardly scoffed, and hardened our glares. The blonde Greeed's eyes gleamed in mischief before swivelling around and snapping his fingers. Out of nowhere, Nora jumped down with a resounding thud as she landed, with Ren gritting his teeth at how this monster was treating her like some pet.

With his back towards us, Kazari cupped his ear. "Do you hear that? No? That would be the sound of payday. It looks like my Yummy's gathered quite a haul." He spun on his heel and walked up to the possessed Nora, only to drive a hand through her chest.

I was sure as hell that this was more than what Ren could take as a mad glint crossed his eyes, his teeth audibly clenched in anger.

As I tugged on his sleeve to calm him down, Kazari drew out a Cell Medal from his progeny and held up with his fingers pointedly. "You see this? This is what we Greeed thrive on when we don't have enough of our Cores. To compensate for our loss, we need a substantial amount just to fuel our power."

"Is this going anywhere, and why are you lecturing us on about this Kazari?" I grunted out, seeing the inanity. He was toying with us.

A chuckle escaped the blonde's mouth. "That's just it, if I am ever going to return to even a fraction of my true power, my Yummy will need to accumulate even more medals. Of course, the only way for it to do that is for the host to follow through on their desires. And what, pray tell, is this sweet kitten's desire again?"

Nora joyfully answered him, " _FOOD!_ "

Uh oh, there was that hungry gleam in her eyes again, and I bet Ren had already put two and two together.

Kazali closed his eyes, almost elated by the implication. "Exactly, and since we're under a bridge right now with little to no food at all…where does that leave you two?" he sneered at us maliciously as he trailed off. Sigh, now I know how Ankh whenever he's around this guy.

"Wait!"

All of us snapped to attention, I knew all too well on whom that voice belonged to. From the corner of my eye, Ankh emerged from a wall; his Greeed arm out even as he crossed it with his normal one. Kazari smirked.

"So, have you thought of my offer Ankh?"

Ankh spared the pair of us a look before eyeing the rogue. "I have."

I tensed my grip on Ren's sleeve; I wanted to hear him out. This could make or break everything.

"You know, I never really liked humans or faunus from the start. They all just seem so troublesome."

"Right you are my friend, so…do we have a deal?" Kazari could almost taste his Tora Core Medal.

It was brief, but Ankh shifted his eyes at me for a second as he flexed his Greeed arm pointedly. I scrunched my face in understanding and prayed that Kazari didn't notice.

The bird Greeed silently shrugged his shoulders, before shooting both me and Ren a death glare. Kazari smiled as he saw this display of hostility as their agreement. Beads of sweat trickled down our foreheads; Ren's was in fear while mine were in anticipation. I gulped hard as I waged all of my hope into this. It's all up to Ankh now.

Wow, two Greeed and one Yummy? Sometimes I think someone up there has it out for me. I could only hold back a breath as Kazari stepped forward to address us.

"Now…where were we? Oh, right its dinner time my pe-" both of us gawped in shock as Kazari's order was cut short; his face contorting in pain. Lodged inside the blonde's back was Ankh's Greeed arm, while the Yummy could only look on in equal astonishment that its master was incapacitated. I was more surprised by the fact that a) Ankh actually pulled it off, and b) that Kazari didn't see that coming.

"Wh-What are you…?" before the feline could finish asking, Ankh drew his arm back with a resounding pull; his fist clenching what medals he could pull out. Kazari lumbered forward as he felt like his insides were caving in. He hunched over and panted like he was out of breath, with his Yummy striding up by his side to keep him from falling.

Ren allowed a smirk to grace his lips; a twinge of gratified amusement on the Greeed's behalf as the once mighty creature that hurt his friends was not writhing like the worm that he was.

Kazari held his chest tightly, gritting his teeth as he cringed from the pain of having been robbed of his Core Medals. How many? He asked himself, how many…which one?

Ankh ogled the Cheetah Core Medal with a triumphant smirk. "Beautiful, I've got to hand it to you Kazari; I almost wanted to take you up on your so-called offer."

His eyes then shot up to glower at his fellow Greeed. " _Almost_ "

From the first time that any of us had witnessed Kazari lose his cool; this had to be the moment that he truly let it all out. "How…how can you betray me? Your own kind!"

Ankh visibly blanched. "My own kind? That wouldn't exactly have stopped you to betray me eventually. Come now Kazari, do you really take me for a fool? I know you. Out of all of us you are the most unscrupulous. Scheming, self-serving, conniving. That is how you have always been and always will be."

He pocketed the Core into his arm before taking out his Scroll. "Funny thing about today's technology Kazari my _friend_ ," he jeered, "is that it's possible for you to put out anything of interest for other people to see. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon this while perusing through it days ago."

He held out the scroll to us as he dragged his finger from picture to picture. It was of the school; more specifically, it was pictures of me and Ankh walking around the halls and courtyard. There were other students alongside us minding their own business, indicating that the shots were taken at random like back at the cafeteria. I squinted when Ankh pointed to a peculiar looking shadow by the far end of the lockers. That is…!

"No way, how…?" Kazari buckled from the pain that he was in.

"That's right. You've been spying on me and my charge for quite a while now. I discovered to my burgeoning annoyance that the students would snap pictures of us every now and then without either of our consent. While I had a very good mind to throttle them for it, I had the further displeasure of realizing that you were shadowing us."

His lips curled into a grin unlike that of the rogue's. "So…what better way to take advantage of a situation than to capitalize on it; wouldn't you agree?"

As realization dawned on me, I suppressed a chill from running down my spine. He planned this. Ankh had actually planned all of this from the very beginning. Ren was more or less stunned as well, both of his guns dangling from his now slack arms.

Kazari took deep heavy breaths as he motioned for his Yummy to feed him Cell Medals, which it happily complied. "Hoho…that was pretty smart of you Ankh. Tell me, were you not tempted by my offer at all? Can the humans and faunus really give you anything better than your fellows!?" he barked out the last word as he slowly felt his strength returning from the steady supply of medals that Yummy-Nora was giving.

"Better? No, but I'd rather take my chances with them rather than with a snake like you. I wouldn't underestimate them if I were you, as they have come a long way since the last eight centuries. Look at what they have accomplished." Ankh spread his arms out to emphasize.

Kazari chuckled mockingly. "Please, sacks of meat can never possibly advance at a rate on par with us Greeed. I will make sure you pay for your decision." After one more medal entered his body, Kazari straightened and transformed.

I curbed back a chuckle as I gave Kazari's weakened state a once over. Without the Cheetah Core to help stabilize him, his lower armor had vanished, leaving only the same brown and tattered bandages wrapped around his legs hugging his waist; the buckle of his belt was noticeably darker in color. Ren and I nodded as we exchanged a look, readying ourselves for one last battle to save Nora.

Before I knew it, Ankh was by my side holding out the King Combo in front of my face, while Ren rushed forward to give us some cover. He shot at the enemy duo, careful to only graze Yummy Nora as she trotted up to defend its master. Kazari himself was dodging the bullets this time. Now that he was weakened even further, he was vulnerable. Oh, the bullets didn't exactly hurt, but they could still go through his body now that it wasn't as reinforced as it was earlier, with the slight chance that one might hit his remaining Core and spill it out. Smug bastard that he was, even he wasn't stupid enough to take that chance now that OOO was also here to back the boy up.

I readily snatched the King Combo from Ankh and slotted them into place, tilting the buckle into position before taking out the O Scanner from its holster. The familiar chime rang through my ears as I ran the scanner through.

"Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

In the blink of an eye, I was once again donned in my armor. I unsheathed Medajalibur just as Kazari was lunging towards me. The both of us jumped back, dodging his claws. The difference in strength was staggering; just one Core taken out of him had succeeded in weakening Kazari.

Kazari pounced again before I raised my sword to meet with his claws. I tried to kick him away, but he swiftly whirled his body around to slash at my back just as my foot was about to connect; even at such a disadvantage he was still formidable. I stumbled forward a bit before catching myself, and then spun around in a swift motion to deliver a slash in retaliation as he was going for another blow. This time, I made contact as sparks and Cell Medals flew from his body.

He staggered back a few steps, but caught himself to race forward with as much speed as he could muster. Fortunately, the Taka lenses allowed me to actually see his precise movements as he tried to deliver a series of slashes directed at my torso and arms; he was going for the Tora Medal. Of course, when a part of the armor sustains enough damage, the medal corresponding to it will forcibly pop out from the Driver before the transformation cancels out. I could only inch back as he refused to give me any openings while rapidly clawing away at my sword that I held up to guard. Raising a clawed arm up at an equally fast pace disallowed me to block as my sword wasn't angled for me to react in time; this was a killing blow.

A Dust enhanced bullet suddenly struck the Greeed by his temple, buckling him aside just far enough for me to deal another slash. I looked to my right and saw Ren dancing around Yummy Nora's clumsy attacks, pelting her with bullets and hoping it would be enough to draw the creature out. I had a good mind to thank him later.

I returned my focus to Kazari as he rose from the ground with a few Cell Medals he managed to pick up. He tossed them in the air before they fell absorbed them into his chest. "Had enough Kazari?"

 **"You have guts kid I'll give you that. Why don't I take a peek and see what they look like?"** he raised a clawed hand up front before once again going for the offensive. Exasperated, I rolled forward to dodge as he swiped at me, careful to avoid cutting myself with my blade as I picked up three Cell Medals to prepare Medajalibur's finisher. I was about to slot them in when Kazari blew me away with a well aimed cyclone. My grip on the sword loosened before it was blown back as well, skidding on the ground until it was too far for me to reach.

Great

Ankh rolled his eyes at the blunder as he was watching the battle calculatingly. He coolly drew a Core Medal out of his arm. "Enrique!" I snapped to attention as I dodged a few roundhouse kicks from my foe, before spotting a Core Medal coming my way. I jumped up with the Batta legs to catch it before Kazari jerked his head to glimpse at the trinket flying through the air.

I caught it before switching the Tora Medal out. I tilted the Driver and grabbed the O-Scanner to swipe it across the altered set.

 **TAKA!**

 **KAMAKIRI!**

 **BATTA!**

Now armed with the Mantis Swords of the Kamakiri portion of the armor, I extended them before going into a stance.

Kazari inwardly grimaced as he shook his head. **"You're only prolonging the inevitable. Give me back my Core Medals and I might just show you mercy."**

My answer was breaking into a run and pouncing at him. He sighed as he did a side-step to dodge and blocked a few blows as we scuffled again. I narrowed my eyes as I noticed that he was now on the defensive. This was my chance. The Kamakiri Medal flared to life as I willed to imbue the blades with energy. I lunged forward to do a double slash again at his chest, hoping to spill more Cell Medals to weaken him again. Unfortunately, he dodged to the side while lining a clawed hand by my buckle, before thrusting forward in a swift motion.

Sparks flew as I fell back, barely aware as one of the Core Medals was forced out of its slot, and much to our rotten luck it was the Kamakiri Medal. Ankh gawked at the scene as Kazari wasted no time in jumping after the once again airborne trinket.

Recovering in time, Ankh launched his Greeed arm straight for the medal, only to be intercepted by the feline who was still much faster despite the loss of a Core. Ankh inwardly cursed at this sudden turn of events.

This is bad; I only had enough time left to remain armored before the transformation cancels out without a complete 3-medal set to sustain it. I had to take another gamble. I looked up from where I fell and spotted Ankh's arm floating above us; my thoughts instantly went to Nathan, who was probably lying prone on the ground without the symbiosis to keep him alive. But time was of the essence, and since Ankh was conveniently providing me with a much needed distraction, pulling this off might just give the advantage we needed.

" **Uva's Core…not exactly mine, but you work with what you get I suppose."** He absorbed the Core inside his body before looking up at Ankh's floating arm. **"Now, would you kindly return to me the rest of my Cores?"**

Ankh hovered over the air in stationary silence, further testing the feline Greeed's patience. However, had the bird Greeed still possessed a body, Kazari would have caught on sooner and realized what his fellow homunculus was ogling keenly.

Which was my fist connecting with as much strength as the suit allowed against Kazari's back, catching the guy off guard as I dug deep inside his torso. He could only freeze helplessly as I grabbed hold of what I prayed was a Core Medal; it felt weird to say the least. The inside of a Greeed was literally nothing _but_ medals swirling around in an enclosed space.

Doing this to the professional backstabber, I had to hold in a snicker at the irony.

 **"My Core..."** Kazari whimpered, that was all I needed to confirm my haul as I pulled back my arm. He buckled from the pain as he fell on his knees, while I slowly opened my fist to see the fruit of my gamble.

Ankh flew past the currently immobilized Greeed and grabbed another Tora and Cheetah Core that was resting comfortably on my palm. **"Good job. It's not the Kamakiri, but it'll have to do to make up for the loss."**

I smiled behind my helmet; this was the very first time he ever really complimented me. Two new Core Medals was better than nothing after all.

Kazari lurched as he rose up in a hunch. **"Ankh, I will make sure you regret this. Mark my words…"** this would have been a prime opportunity to finish him off, but the distant cries of battle dictated my immediate attention elsewhere. I almost felt a twinge of pity as the rogue Greeed stumbled away pathetically while picking up what little Cell Medals he could carry. Then again, knowing the kind of person he was, it was a little more than what he truly deserved.

* * *

Ren was up to his wits as he dodged another claw swipe from Yummy Nora. He had been relentlessly doing all he could to lure out the creature, but so far none had worked. I was certain that his ammo was close to being depleted and was now compensating with hit-and-run tactics. We flanked him from side to side as a kick pushed him back; we caught him before his back could kiss the ground.

The armor dispelled again shortly after Kazari left when I failed to slot a new medal in time, but since my opponent had dropped out early it was of little concern. With sword back in hand, I spied the now enraged Yummy enveloping Nora's body. Its power echoed and threatened to push the three of us back as it released an echoing roar.

"It would seem she's nearing the end of the infection. It won't be long until she is consumed entirely." Ankh explained as I slotted my new medals.

Ren's heart sank after hearing this, "N-Nora…"

A memory reared itself in my mind as I watched him sympathetically.

 _Years ago…_

" _Look bro! I'm queen of the castle!" Marie hollered from above me, her arms spread out like wings._

" _Marie, be careful in that tree house," I called out to her. My words fell on deaf ears as Marie took a step forward and slipped; luckily I caught her in my arms on time._

" _Marie, are you all right!?" I asked frantically, my heart racing at the close call._

 _Marie could only engulf my neck in a tight embrace as she snivelled in fear, visibly dazed that she was so close to getting hurt._

I hardened my gaze as the memory faded. "She's going to be okay Ren, this I promise you!"

"Tch, at her state I don't even think she's worth it." Ankh remarked, attracting another scowl from Ren.

"When I promised Ren that I would save Nora, I meant every bit of it to fulfil that promise – even if I have to fight you to do what must be done!" I shared the dual wielder's sentiment; Ankh was already pushing it as it is.

"I'd be more impressed if you did." He muttered as I tilted the buckle and scanned. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

Armored once again, I drew my sword at the ready and lunged forward to slash at its torso. Much to my surprise the blade literally bounced back as I staggered in kind, falling on my rear.

This was just like in the show. I knew that I had to hit harder if I was ever going to pierce through its tough skin. But I couldn't risk hurting Nora if I did that. What if I…

"Ankh, give me the Cheetah Medal!" I called out as I rolled away from a claw strike. Ren peppered it with more shots to push it back. A stray ricochet grazed his left cheek, but he fluttered on; past the point of caring about his own safety if it meant saving Nora.

The bird Greeed was about ready to object before adopting a thoughtful expression. "Hm, yes…that could work." He released the Cheetah Medal out of his hand and tossed it towards me. I stabbed the ground with my sword; I wasn't going to need it for this. I caught the trinket in one hand as the other removed the Batta Medal from its slot.

Ren ducked and leaped away from the Yummy before it could crush him in a bear hug. "Whatever you're doing, do it fast! I can only keep this thing distracted so far!"

It was now or never as I scanned for another Combo change.

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **CHEETAH!**

The Batta Legs gave way for the Cheetah legs in a swirl of energy. A resounding roar echoed through my ears as the legs glowed with power. In a burst of speed, I pushed the Yummy back with a strong swipe of the Tora Claws. As it staggered back, I jetted towards it in a sprint and grabbed its shoulders. I held on tightly as I lifted both of my legs to deliver a flurry of kicks straight at the Yummy's stomach.

I persistently delivered a steady barrage of kicks at the Yummy's midsection; the throes of exhaustion being held back by the armor's energies. Yes, it was working! A stream of Cell Medals started to spill from the gaping hole from its stomach. With the Taka lenses, I spotted a prone figure within the beast hanging on for dear life. It was Nora, whose body was now severely emaciated as opposed to how enlarged she was.

"Help me!" she cried out in desperation.

I stopped my tirade as I held out my hand to her. "Grab hold, quickly!" I leaned in closer to get within reach, with the creature punching and clawing away at my back as it was very much unwilling to release its host again.

I didn't care. I promised Ren and Ruby that I would save Nora, and if it meant enduring pain, then so be it. I stretched my arm as far as I could without letting my own body be consumed. When I felt her hand tightly grasping it, I held on tightly and pulled. With a forceful tug, Nora's thin but very much alive body burst out of the hole accompanied by a few Cell Medals as we both landed in a heap.

I set her down gently for Ren to attend to before shifting my focus back at the Yummy, who was fiddling with the gaping hole that was slowly but surely regenerating. Oh, he was so going to get it this time. Ankh seemed to read my mind as he tossed me Medajalibur. I inserted the three Cell Medals I pocketed earlier into the slot before running the O Scanner through the blade.

 **TRIPLE SCANNING CHARGE!**

"Ha!" I let out a battle cry as I swung the sword in a swift and determined motion against the Yummy, bisecting it and the area behind it diagonally before reality reverted back into place. I hung my head in relief when the creature blew up in a literal explosion of Cell Medals, with Ankh's arm happily flying through the air and consuming as much as his arm could catch.

I looked back at Ren who was cradling Nora up gently. She had thinned considerably from the obese mess she was just moments ago. "The Yummy drained her of her calories to make up for the Cells he gave Kazari to replenish him." Ankh idly commented as he flanked my side. Well, at least she wouldn't have to spend a fortune on the gym, that's for sure.

"Is she okay?" I asked smoothly as we walked up to the couple, having dispelled the armor. Ren looked up from his friend and rewarded me with a smile, after giving Ankh the stink eye.

"She's weak, but she'll pull through." Nora's eyes were glazed in fatigue, but she too graced me with a small smile

"Great, now if you'll excuse me-" I trailed off before I fainted, everything going black.

* * *

By the time I awoke, I heard a faint voice ringing through my ears. It was only after gaining back some semblance of consciousness that I realized that it was Ruby, whose kind face was the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes.

"He's awake!" Ruby shot her hands up in glee before snaking them around my neck in a vice grip. I choked for dear life, futilely patting her on the back before having the wind knocked out of me again. She yelped in oblivious panic as she kept saying my name as she shook me by the shoulders.

I finally regained full cognizance after Yang managed to calm Ruby down. I sat up by my bed in the infirmary and scanned my surroundings. Both Teams RWBY and JNPR were circling my bed; with the exception of Ren and Nora, who were situated by the bed from across mine. The orange haired spitfire had long recovered from her brush with death and was now happily munching away at a fresh plate of pancakes…while a large stack of empty plates flanked the right side of her bed.

Ren was by her side and was attending to her every need. He gave me a friendly nod of gratitude, which I waved off with a raise of a hand. I was just happy that I fulfilled my promise. I was informed that I and Nora had slept throughout the day since the battle ended and was indeed proven of that when my stomach grumbled. I examined my surroundings and saw that both Teams sans Nora were already fully recovered of their injuries. Man, if only I had some of that aura too.

Weiss was standing by the foot of my bed while crossing her arms along with a stoic expression; her sharp eyes studying me, while Blake and Yang were smiling at me as they sat together by the bed on my left. Jaune and Pyrrha were next to each other by my right while Ruby was sitting by the right of my own bed. Ankh was sitting by the bed near the entrance, his back towards me while he brooded. I had no doubt that Ren was still quite sore from their brief clash.

The sound of a food trolley snapped us to attention as we all swivelled in the direction of the source, where a pale skinned woman holding a scroll against her chest and pushing the trolley by the other was walking up to us. She was dressed in a grey business suit, a knee length skirt and black stilettos. Her blue hair was done in a side ponytail that reached down to her shoulders. The helmeted biker was trailing behind her, still adorned in gear. He spared Ankh a glance as he walked by, causing the Greeed to rise from his seat and follow them in suspicion.

Weiss moved aside as the trolley stopped by the foot of my bed before the woman walked up so that she was now standing in front of me. Her gaze lingered on me for a moment before presenting the scroll up front with the screen facing us. The display flickered before a middle aged man dressed in a black business suit under a white apron and clutching a sifter for baking hailed us jovially.

My jaw dropped as I instantly recognized who this was; at least I hope it's him.

"Greetings! Enrique, Team RWBY and Team JNPR! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" yep, it was him. This guy was definitely Kougami, which surprised me that there even _was_ a Kougami in this world; will wonders never cease?

"Uh, it's not anyone's birthday…is it?" Jaune inquired. When no one answered, he slumped in disappointment.

"Of course there is! When new people meet, that is the catalyst for a brand new birth!" he declared, his gaze wandering around the other Teams present.

"The man you are speaking to right now is Kousei Kougami, Head of the Kougami Foundation." The woman finally spoke up. Either my ears were playing tricks on me, or she sounded exactly like that woman from the series, Erika Satonaka if she were an English speaker.

" _THE_ Kougami Foundation!" Weiss exclaimed in recognition.

"You heard of them Weiss?" Ruby asked in curiosity.

She knit her brows in bewilderment at her partner's ignorance. "Only that they're one of the leading developers of vehicles and transportation, even coming up with new alternative fuel sources aside from Dust." She turned to the Scroll, "Not to mention that they're one of my father's associates."

"Indeed Miss Schnee, although I cannot say that I…agree with a lot of what your father does." He regarded the blonde critically.

The young heiress could only huff in indignation at the slight as she jerked her head away while crossing her arms.

"The Kougami Foundation would like to express their gratitude for the service that you all provided yesterday in dispatching that Yummy." The woman spoke again, while the biker trotted forward with a large silver briefcase. He held it up before us and opened it, revealing twelve new Candroids. He shortly snapped it shut before handing it to Jaune, who eyed it curiously along with Pyrrha.

Ankh watched the President with a sneer. "I take it that _you_ were the one collecting _my_ Cell Medals old man?" The biker seemed to react as he turned his head towards the red Greeed, but remained silent.

"That is quite right!" he answered as he removed the apron from his person, "I actually called for this meeting to negotiate certain terms with you Ankh."

"Negotiate?" Ankh repeated. "You want us to share Medals?"

"Exactly!" he pointed a finger at Ankh, "My foundation will offer precious equipment like bikes or weapons. In exchange of course, for a reasonable fee of Cell Medals." At this, both Teams gawked in comprehension.

"YOU! You're the guys who made Enrique's sword?" Ruby asked.

"And delivered all those new vending machines?" followed by Yang.

"And made all of those cute Can thingies?" trailed off by Weiss. All of us turned our heads to stare at her. "What?"

"Tch, as if!" Ankh scoffed, marching up to the woman to knock the Scroll out of her hand, only for the mysterious biker to get in between them with a gun drawn out; the muzzle precariously jabbed against the bird Greeed's chest.

"Don't even think about it." He warned; his voice slightly muffled by the helmet, "I won't miss." I resisted the urge to roll my eyes; at that distance? He'd have to be a special kind of inept to even graze, let alone miss.

Ankh's face contorted into one of his familiar death glares, growling under his breath.

"Well Ankh, it would seem that now is not the right time to be discussing such matters, seeing as how that you are all still recovering from what happened the other day. Miss Haven, if you please."

The secretary obeyed as she ended the transmission, before removing the cloche over the plate of food – revealing a steaming breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, bacon and two slices of muffins. My eyes widened at the delectable meal before looking up to see the two visitors about to vacate the infirmary. The biker was the last to follow his associate as he trained his weapon on Ankh a bit longer before withdrawing it and converting the once single gun into twin short swords.

"Humph, another headache," he looked down at me, "you better get out of here soon." Before sauntering off, most likely back to our dorm.

Jaune opened the briefcase again as we studied the twelve new Candroids. Each of them was lined together by their corresponding color; four green Kamakiri Cans, four blue Tako Cans, and finally four red Condor Cans.

"I want one!" Ruby exclaimed as she snatched one of the red cans and pulled the tab. The Candroid instantly reacted and transformed into a small bird-like machine. It cawed out cutely, eliciting a hearty squeal from the scythe wielder as she cuddled the tiny avian in glee.

I smiled at the scene before spotting Ren taking two green ones out before walking back to sit beside Nora. Jaune and Pyrrha each took blue ones, while Weiss, Blake, and Yang took a red, blue and green can respectively.

They all pulled at the tabs simultaneously and were soon regaled by the tiny machines. Nora clapped in delight as she ogled her Batta Candroid hopping around her bed, while Ren's was sitting calmly by his palm.

"Look Ren, it's a cute little grasshopper! Oh! Can I keep it, can I keep it, _PLEASE_!" she pouted adorably up to her friend, who smiled down at her as he nodded in consent.

"Those are the Batta Candroids. Aside from detecting Greeed or Yummies, they also serve as two-way radios." Nora gasped in joy at my explanation, no doubt imagining ways on how to take advantage of the little critters.

The other cans were already self-explanatory as the Tako and Taka candroids that were opened floated above us. I was so mesmerised by them that I failed to notice someone gently placing my breakfast on my lap.

I looked up to my eyes met with golden yellow orbs, but they were full of warmth and care as Blake smiled kindly at me. My features fell as I remembered my outburst the other day.

"Hey uh…about me blowing my top at you the other day. I'm really sorry." My voice cracked as I trailed off; whether from exhaustion or how rotten I felt, neither reason mattered as she closed her eyes and shook her head; water under the bridge.

I gave her a small smile before looking down at my food to eat. The rest of the day was spent in bed resting. It was early evening when the nurse deemed me well enough to leave.

When I finally arrived at our dorm room, I found Ankh lounging silently by the top bunk while playing with his scroll.

"Did anything else happen while I was in the infirmary?" I half-expected him to answer, if only to get me off his back for the time being.

"No…well, there was that girlfriend of yours coming here and asking for you." He didn't even glance at my direction as I massaged my eyes at his choice of words.

"Was it Blake?" at his nod, I sauntered off to find her. I wasn't in any mood to argue anyway.

Her friends were more than a little helpful as they pointed me to the library where Blake was currently at. After I arrived, I almost reeled from how massive it was. I made my way through row after row of shelves; keeping my eyes peeled for a black bow atop ebony hair. When I finally stumbled upon my quarry, she was slouched against one of the larger bookshelves, her eyes glued at what I could only guess was a novel of some kind.

I hung my head in thought; maybe I should start over with her. I carefully strode up to where she was seated, dragging my feet along the carpet to muffle my steps. It was then that I took notice of the peculiarity of her bow twitching again, just as it had back at the cafeteria. I slowed my pace, inwardly convinced that she somehow caught wind of my presence.

As if to prove my guess, she looked up from her book and spotted me as I approached. Her yellow eyes seemed to glow in the dim corridor as I came up to her, but I dismissed that away as just my imagination.

I looked down at Blake shyly, before carefully sitting down next to her and leaning back against the shelves to relax. I took a deep breath then exhaled, taking in the strong scent of paper.

"It's bad for your eyes." I muttered.

Blake blinked. "What?"

"Reading in the dark I mean…it's bad for your eyes."

Blake's lips pressed together tightly like she was considering something, before directing her gaze back to her book. "I'll keep that in mind."

We sat together in awkward silence for a few minutes before I tilted my head to gaze at her. "Listen, I think we got off on the wrong start. I just…want to say that I'm sorry. I'm really sorry…about, well, everything."

"You already apologized this morning remember?" she reminded me, still focused on the book.

"I was talking about being a total wuss the other day at the cafeteria. I should have done more to keep you guys from getting hurt." I rasped, starting to feel the onset of sleep.

Blake snorted as her lips contorted into a smile. "If anything, _I_ should be the one keeping _you_ safe."

I blinked at her quip. "Ren told us that you…don't have an aura or a semblance. Is…that true?"

I sighed as I threw my head back against a row of books. "Yeah, I'm really not cut out for getting into scrapes like you guys. But…I just can't help but feel like…helping out whenever I see someone that really needs it, you know?"

"I know what you mean," she concurred, "what's wrong with trying to help out someone every now and then?"

"Right…" I closed my eyes, but still striving to stay awake.

"Does that extend to you as well?" my eyes shot open as I tilted to look at her again, with her meeting my gaze.

"Not sure…ever since…well, ever since that day…I haven't been able to give a damn about myself at all."

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't disregard your own happiness. Ankh mentioned that you don't have any desires. What about dreams? What do you want to be when you grow up?"

I snorted at the rather childish question, but I smiled toothily nonetheless, with her chuckling in kind. "I don't know. Never really thought of it before…"

Blake's brows furrowed as she leaned in closer to me. "That can't be healthy. There has to be something."

I pondered in silence before my eyes widened a bit. "A writer…"

She beamed. "You see? What's wrong with pursuing that? Take me for example, I like books." She hefted the one she was holding to highlight her point. "My favourite past time is reading. When I see a good book, it almost makes me want to shake the author's hand for making such a fantastic piece of literature."

"So…I'm guessing if I write something good and you like it, then you'd want to shake my hand then?" I barked out a small laugh, expecting that she'd take it for the joke that it was.

"Of course I would."

I blinked again as I jerked my head to her; she was still sporting that kind smile. "Well, I don't really know what I would write. I mean where to start?"

"Anything you want I guess." She bookmarked the page that she was reading before sealing it shut, saving it for another time as she let it rest on her lap.

"That sounds nice. I would have…" I bit back the words before they came, suddenly recalling Marie looking up at me with love.

Blake's eyes shot up. "Enrique?"

"It's nothing." I mumbled as I rose from the carpet, Blake's eyes trailing my form. I was ready to walk back to my dorm when she held her hand out to me.

"Hm? Do you want me to help you up?"

She slowly shook her head; her smile returning. "Consider it an advance on when I finally get to read that book of yours."

I paused, still hunching over with my hands on my knees to help me up. I blinked a few times before sighing – damn, I did it again.

"No promises." I gently took her hand and shook it, her palm felt soft against mine; warm even. I felt a blush coming on as I straightened up and left.

* * *

 _Blake looked down at her hand. "Warm…he was warm." She raised it up to hold her chest, as if wanting to savour the warmth of his touch. "But it was also empty…so much pain."_

 _Even though she didn't know Enrique all that well, she could tell that he knew the pain of being alone; being on your own with no one to be there for you when it mattered, it should have been an alien concept to someone like her as she had lived amongst her brothers and sisters of the White Fang almost her whole life. She thought of Adam and the friendship they shared since childhood – until it fell apart._

 _However, when she actually dwelled deeper into it, there was always something that was…missing from her life; a void that she was never quite able to fill. Whenever she was alone in her old room, she would curl up in bed and block out all the horrible things that humans would do and say against the Faunus. Human children would always distance themselves whenever she tried to play with them, with their parents scornfully driving her away._

 _It should have been more than enough to hate humanity for their prejudice against her kind; Adam showed her that. But why didn't she? Why could she never really bring herself to hate humans? As her mind continued to wander, she thought back to the day of the initiation where she first came to know her three teammates._

 _Something seemed to click in her as she recalled that day. "Is that it?" her teammates; her human teammates – her friends. Were they even really friends? She always wondered how they would react if they ever found out about her true nature, dreading the same hate and scorn from them. She shook that thought away as she exited the library and walked back to her dorm._

" _If that time ever comes…they've been good to me so far. So maybe…?" she bit back a sob as she hugged her book tightly against her chest, the familiar emptiness creeping back in again._

* * *

 **CURRENT CORE MEDALS:**

 **Taka**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (x2)**

 **Batta**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

" _But I wonder if your taste for fashion can bring you to the depths of sadness?" she said as she presented a silver coin between her fingers._

"Velvet, run!" I shouted as I grabbed her hand as we began to run away from Uva.

 **GA~TA GATA GATAKIRI–BA! GATAKIRIBA!**

 **Next Time: Trouble with Fashion! The Strongest Combo Arrives!**

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you guys enjoyed this rewritten chapter. Thank you to one of my BETA Readers, Kid Eternity to point some things out. Don't forget to check out my other stories and check out my profile for the poll for a Halo 5 crossover. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	5. Chapter 5: Trouble with Fashion!

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the fifth chapter of Remnants of Desire! I hope you are enjoying the story as well as the previous chapter and remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]). Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we?

Henshin!

Third Person View

'Thought'

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _A lone figure was wandering lazily along the streets of Vale - glazed over but still perceptive. Unheeding of the people, he found the fresh sights, sounds and sensations he felt far more worthy of his attention. An amused glint passed over his eyes as he surveyed a few Pro-Faunus Rights posters. "Cute," he thought. If only they knew._

 _On the night after his battle with OOO and that bird brain Ankh, he trudged through an abandoned alley to recover his strength as he absorbed what little of the Cell Medals he could pick up. The loss of his Yummy was of very little consequence to him, still, having wasted an ample amount of medals left him more than a little ticked._

 _Forced to remain in human form, Kazari settled to amusing himself with petty thievery when the aches of his body had subsided. His scuffle with the new OOO was one of the very few times that he had ever felt actual pain in his entire life. The bitter memory of his so-called King digging his hands into his chest to rob him of his medals was an adequate comparison._

 _Within the witching hour, he came across three thugs counting their haul from a local sports shop hiding out in a warehouse. He had dispatched them easily, with the intent to make hosts out of them to help replenish his supply. All of them reeked with desire, a definite gold mine for any opportunistic Greeed that was hungry for more Cell Medals. But just his rotten luck, exhausting even a single medal was taxing in his current state._

 _His mood lightened up considerably when he spied one of the open boxes that had a skateboard protruding out of it. Curious, he relieved the unconscious men of their contraband and took to the streets to ride it. At first, it was difficult to maintain his balance on the four wheeled plank; falling on his rear and eliciting more than a few snickers from early passers-by. Indifferent to their mirth, about an hour of practice was all he needed to grow accustomed to his new toy._

 _A few hours into touring the city, Kazari looked up to see the sun shining overhead – it was noon. He set his board down and took off for the abandoned mansion that had come to serve as their base of operations._

 _Arriving a half hour later, he entered through the door and was immediately bombarded with two strong auras; he bit back a curse. It was only then that he realized how truly weak he had become, how much power he had lost to Ankh and his pet monkey. Keeping his cool, he trotted through the corridors and made his way to the main hall where he came across his two associates._

 _The first one he spotted was a tall, well-built man in his early to mid-twenties with dark, slicked-back green hair and pale skin, his emerald green eyes flaring as he took sight of the new arrival. He was wearing a green leather jacket over a black shirt adorned with the bright green outline of a mantis' mandibles. Black denims hugged his powerful legs which were complimented by black sneakers._

 _The second figure was hunched over by the corner and playing with a few knickknacks that he found around the house. He scratched his short, spikey silver hair in agitation as he looked up to regard Kazari, his brown eyes indicating that he had been expecting someone else. A grey, long-sleeved shirt loosely hugged his thin frame, along with steel grey cargo pants and heavy combat boots._

 _Kazari clicked his tongue as he studied the two, a sliver of nostalgia washing over him. "Haven't seen those forms in a while."_

" _Tch, get off! To me, it still feels like only a few days had passed since the war." Uva grumbled irritably._

" _Right…the war. You know, I actually went to the local library a few days ago to check up on our history. Not a single book, tome or scroll consisted of anything involving us." Kazari placed his baseball cap to rest on an old cupboard by the entrance before shuffling to sit by the window._

 _The scowl on Uva's face softened somewhat, but not much; a thoughtful gleam in his eyes. "Propaganda no doubt. I mean, we did leave quite a mark on Remnant after all." He gave the blonde a once over. "Enough about that; what the hell happened to you? You just walked off the other day without telling us." There was no concern in his voice, only annoyance – Kazari could keel over right now and he wouldn't care._

" _Where's Mezool?" the wiry man whimpered as he rose up from the floor, swivelling his head back and forth. Uva threw his head back, exasperated by their comrade's childlike mentality._

" _She's busy Gamel, and stop bothering me!" he snapped, causing the other to wince as he sat back down; giving Uva a dirty look._

 _Kazari spoke up again as he spied Vale from afar. "A lot has changed these past 800 years. I hate to admit it, but the humans and faunus have come a long way since the days of carriages and wagons. They even live better now, well, better compared to how they used to." He pursed his lips as he leaned his head back against the wall, "If you're wondering about my massive power drop it's because of…OOO."_

 _That snapped the other two to attention, but neither one showed it. Their silence prompted Kazari to continue._

" _The reason why I sauntered off was because I was bored being holed up in this dump with you three, but also because I wanted to have a look around. I would have come back, but…something came up."_

" _And that something was OOO?" Uva crossed his arms as he rubbed his chin._

 _Kazari snorted in amusement, "and Ankh."_

 _This caused the other two to visibly react, with Uva growling in anger while Gamel simply scrunched his face up in confusion._

" _Why would Ankh work with His Majesty again? That doesn't make sense." Uva rubbed his eyes at the Beast Greeed's ineptitude._

" _It's not the King you idiot! He's long dead, or did you forget that his rotten corpse had been our erstwhile prison?" the snapping tone of the Insect Greeed's voice caused Gamel to flare up, but before he could throttle the green brute, Kazari made an audible snap of his fingers._

 _Both heads pivoted back to him. "He and the new OOO are currently enrolled at Beacon Academy."_

" _That circus?" Uva spat out mockingly. Kazari nodded._

" _Oh, it's a circus alright. They didn't even put up much of a fight. But the excursion did stifle my boredom…for however long it could."_

" _Let me guess, OOO sent you packing?" Uva smirked. The rogue Greeed ignored him._

" _Yeah…but the thing is, Ankh has the new OOO wrapped around his finger this time. He was calling the shots, not the other way around."_

 _Uva quirked a brow at that as he tapped a finger against his cheek before turning away. "Interesting."_

 _Unbeknownst to his green associate, Kazari was idly fiddling with the Kamakiri Medal with the hand behind his thigh, suppressing the energy it emanated with his own to better hide it._

 _Meanwhile in Vale, a young girl in her late teens was strolling across the streets of Vale, eliciting more than a fair number of curious, male eyes that passed her by. She was indifferent to the stares she was garnering, but was nonetheless proud; it had been quite a while since she assumed this form. A black dress with light blue trimmings wrapped around her ivory skin lovingly, complimented by a blue cape that fell over her shoulders and ended by her waist._

" _I still got it."_

 _Humouring them, she flipped her long ebony hair as her sapphire blue eyes subtly gauged their reactions. Some turned away, while others kept on ogling; their cheeks flushing. Her smirk grew._

 _Not long after Kazari left the mansion, she too had started becoming restless. The distant city of Vale provoked a curiosity she had long thought lost since having grown bored of their old kingdom. As soon as the sun kissed the sky, she bade Gamel farewell before assuring him that she would come back with the promise of new toys; it wouldn't do for the poor dear to blow his top from her sudden disappearance._

 _Needless to say, her interest was well founded; metal carriages that ran without horses, tall buildings made of stone, metal and glass, clothes of every style, size and color. It was simply too much. Oh, she could only imagine the fun she would have in this new era._

 _Speaking of clothes, she furrowed her brows in wonder as she eyed a large establishment that was crowded with people; mostly women. Through the pane of the display window, her wandering gaze fell on a tall young woman that couldn't have been older than her human guise. She had short neck length brown hair, with a single wavy bang that fell down to her clavicle; dyed in a gradient of brown and ended in red._

 _A chocolate brown sweater accentuated her curves under a dark drown corset, with formfitting dark brown cargos reaching down to her knees and complimented with ribbons tied by the left side; a drape of black skirt could be made out hanging by the right. Dark brown thigh-high boots with gold buckles further added to her flare, and above her head rested a dark brown beret. Slack around her waist was a brown bandolier lined with bullets kept in place by a gold crosshairs buckle. As if that wasn't enough, a number of accessories donned her person; her right wrist consisting of a black rose corsage under a black beaded necklace, black gloves, and a black scarf wrapped around the frilled collar of her sweater over the same beaded necklace. She was spying a few blouses through her wire-rimmed aviator sunglasses. A small handbag was resting close beside her on the floor. A simple glance would have been enough for anyone to tell that this girl was heavy on fashion._

 _Mezool smiled as she produced a silver coin from her hand. She casually entered the store, running her fingers through various designer outfits that were coveted by many of these women, but none could possibly compare to the sheer desire that was emanating from her intended host._

" _Hello." The azure Greeed greeted._

 _The girl swivelled to face her. "Can I help you?"_

" _I love your outfit; can you tell me where I can get that neat scarf around your neck?" Mezool pointed with the hand that palmed her medal._

 _The girl narrowed her eyes behind her shades to study the newcomer a bit; she felt a peculiar sliver of dread creep up for some reason as she met her sapphire eyes. "Um…sure, there's a pile of these over by that counter." The girl pointed Mezool to the far corner of the store near the cashier where there was indeed a pile of scarves being attended to by two customers._

" _Thank you. By the way, what's your name?" Mezool asked as she flipped the coin through her fingers._

" _Coco, Coco Adel. You?" as Coco trailed off from her introduction and inquiry, a silver slot appeared on her forehead; freezing her in place._

" _Mezool. Say Coco, I wonder if your love of fashion can give way to a most wondrous brood." She flipped the coin in the air, where it fell true to its target and inserted itself into the slot. The next thing Coco knew, Mezool was gone. She darted her head back and forth as she panted, wondering if all of that had really happened._

 _More than a little spooked by the experience, Coco determined that she had enough of window shopping and started heading straight back to Beacon Academy. From across the street of the store, Mezool chuckled to herself as she watched the unsuspecting host walking away from the store, gleefully anticipating the birth of her "children"._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Trouble with Fashion! The Stronger Combo Arrives!**

When I awoke the day after my conversation with Blake, I groaned from my still aching muscles. Damn, when I tried to rationalize what happened two days ago as just a bad dream I had from eating something I didn't agree with, I was snapped back to reality by a sharp throbbing in my back. How the hell Eiji even dealt with shit like this, I'll never know. Then again, Eiji Hino was a fictional character, and much to my mounting dismay, this was apparently all too real. Ankh was already dressed when I looked up to his bunk. I rubbed my eyes a bit to see if my eyes were playing tricks on me. For this day, the bird Greeed was wearing short-sleeved white collared shirt with pockets on the front and black trimmings. His right sleeve was a deep shade of red whiles his left remained white. Brown trousers were wrapped around his legs which ended in a pair of white loafers. He spared me a glance as he was playing away with his scroll; what was he doing on that thing anyway?

I humoured myself. "Anything I should know?" Ankh looked up from the tablet.

"I'm researching everything I can about that shitty old man cutting into my medals."

"Kougami? You heard Weiss the other day; it's a multi-national corporation like her dad's."

Ankh snorted as he kept dragging a finger through what I could only guess was info on the Kougami Foundation. "There's just something…familiar about him that I can't quite put my claw on."

I heaved a sigh as I hung my head. "Whatever; listen, I'm gonna take a shower and get ready for today. You?"

"Since I haven't caught a whiff of cell medals lately, just leave me to my own devices and work on your training."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes mom!" this elicited a growl from the bird man, but I ignored it.

After my much needed warm shower, I was treated to a very odd sight. Before I even noticed, I was whistling to myself in just my towel and checking my wardrobe for what to wear. My hair was damped down, which hampered my peripheral vision. Once I whirled back to face my bed, the whistling died in my throat as I finally caught sight of the small crowd of onlookers.

Ruby was red in the face; in fact, I could have sworn she was redder than her hood as she covered her mouth with both hands. Yang was eyeing me over with a growing smirk. Blake stared on with a stoic face, while Weiss was turning away with a hand over hers.

The same couldn't be said for the others as Jaune rolled his eyes up the roof while Pyrrha was respectfully turning away as well. Nora was boring holes into me with a giddy grin, while Ren was giving Ankh the stink eye; not that the red Greeed even cared as he was still engulfed in his research.

Just another day in my life; hooray!

* * *

After locking myself in the bathroom for 15 minutes to change... I cleared my throat as I sat in front of the two Teams who were now giving me their full courtesy.

"So, any particular reason why you guys invaded the privacy of our room without notice?" I was seated backwards on a swivel chair from across them, resting my arms on the backrest.

Ruby was the first to speak up. "Well, me and the other guys were talking and…after that whole disaster at the cafeteria, we want to know more about what we're dealing with. The Greeed I mean."

I looked up to Ankh by his nest and gauged his reaction. He met my eyes as if deliberating on whether he was going to tell them or me. I sighed; I am so not his secretary.

"Ankh, show them the Core Medals." Ankh scoffed.

"Like hell." I furrowed my brows in a pleading manner. "Come on, if you want us to have any chance of having an advantage, we might as well have some help."

"Just do well on your training." He persisted.

I sighed in frustration. "I _am_. I've been working my butt off since the day I got here for you. And I thought after what happened with Kazari, you'd be reassessing our options." Sometimes I think this whole bodyguard shtick was working the other way around with us.

After another long gruelling moment, Ankh relented and jumped down from the bed. I caught Ren grabbing hold of Nora's hand and inching closer beside her. Ankh turned to regard all of them with a sneer. "So, you _kids_ want to know all there is to know about us Greeed do you? Tch, you might not like where I'll be going with this."

"Pfft, how bad can it be?" Yang shrugged. Ankh smirked devilishly at her confidence.

"First, show them the medals," I spoke up.

Ankh looked over his shoulder inquisitively at me before shrugging. He fell down to sit on the floor and began lining up all of the Core Medals we managed to collect. "They're so pretty!" Ruby was eyeing the trinkets with sparkles in her eyes.

No, seriously, I could see _actual_ sparkles in front of her eyes.

Ankh ignored her as he held the Taka Medal up. "What you see before you are called Core Medals. They are the very center of us Greeed and is the source of our power." the ones in the back leaned in closer to study them, with Blake scrunching her eyes at Kazari's medals.

"They're…marked with animal faces."

"That's right. For each of us Greeed, we have three sets of animals that correspond with each medal. For me, it would be the red Taka, Condor and Kujaku. Which are grouped into three sets of duplicates each; that makes 9 in total. For all of us 5, that would make a total of 45 Medals all in all."

Ruby shot her hand up. "Um, can you translate those names please? We know what a Condor is but, what's a Taka and Kuja-Kuj-uh-"

Ankh heaved a sigh. "Taka means Hawk and Kujaku means Peacock. May I _please_ continue?" Ruby smiled and nodded.

"Why are they named like that?" Weiss inquired.

"One of the alchemists who were part of the group that made them was from Vacuo, so he based the names on his ancient native tongue."

Huh, Vacuo must be their equivalent of Japan or Asia.

"What are alchemists?" Ruby asked.

Weiss found herself once again accommodating her partner. "You're kidding right? Ruby, alchemists were like the first scientists of ancient times. According to the most popular accounts, they used to mix both science and aura to accomplish feats that could have easily been mistaken as magic. Where the heck have you been?"

Ruby hung her head shamefully as she twiddled her fingers together. "Sorry."

"Honestly!" Weiss huffed.

"Hey, lay off Weiss!" Yang interjected.

" _ **MAY I PLEASE CONTINUE!?**_ " Ankh boomed, his patience thinning. When everyone was once again silent, Ankh cleared his throat.

"As I mentioned earlier, the medals are marked with three animals each that make a total of 9 in an entire set. Uva's are the green Stag Beetle, Mantis, and Grasshopper. Kazari's are the yellow Lion, Tiger and Cheetah. Mezool's are the blue Orca, Electric Eel, and Octopus. Gamel's are the grey Rhinoceros, Gorilla, and Elephant."

"But why animals?" Blake asked.

"That is a tale I would much rather save for next time." Ankh responded noncommittally.

"So _why_ do the Greeed exist? Kazari mentioned that you were like the first line of defence for all of the Kingdoms against the Grimm," Phyrra too inquired.

"Not all of the Kingdoms, just one. But it's long gone now and good riddance too. You people don't need to know about that little titbit so don't ask me for any more about it." Ankh cleared his throat again. "The Greeed were basically homunculi, artificial beings that were born out of the Medals which were in turn created using advanced techniques by Gara and the Royal Alchemists."

"So this Gara guy is kind of like your father or something?" Jaune wondered aloud. Ankh instantly blanched. "Watch your _tongue_ human," Ankh hissed with venom as he held out his clawed hand towards the blonde threateningly, "Gara was no father of mine or anyone's! He was a despicable man; the worse of the worse."

Jaune froze in fear before Pyrrha laid a hand on his shoulder to settle him; she gave Ankh a glare that was unlike her green team mate's.

"Besides, he wasn't the only one. The original OOO; the Multi-King, was the one who ordered Gara to find a solution to the Grimm. Through rigorous research and experiments, Gara had the King collaborate their auras together to develop a new type of power; Core Energy. Through this, they imbued 50 blank medals that would come to form us Greeed."

"Wait, 50? Didn't you say that it was 45?" Yang spoke up.

"Yes, but when we were finally completed, we were little more than statues – unresponsive dolls with no drive, no ambition – no desire." I noticed him shifting uncomfortably for a second.

"So, after a little trial and error Gara had the King take one medal from each of us, the result was that a void had formed within our hearts; a sort of…emptiness. It was through that emptiness that we became conscious. Unfortunately, we had no coherent way of expressing ourselves; blank slates with little to no idea of whom or what we were." He snorted again, only it was more out of a sense of nostalgia rather than bitterness.

I noticed Ruby and Blake furrowing their brows in sympathy. Wow, who knew that Ankh could actually work up a crowd?

"As for _His Majesty_ , he kept our medals as trophies to symbolize his dominance over us." There was a trail of bitterness in his tone, but I didn't blame him; the King sounded like a total jerk.

"Then what?" Weiss interjected.

"Well, due to our infantile state we were taught from scratch; human knowledge, mannerisms, patterns of behaviour. We were even taught how to fight. I and the rest of the Greeed were already veterans by the time we were sealed."

All of our eyes widened as we comprehended, with Pyrrha voicing out our thoughts. "Wait, so that would make you the very first Hunters, right? And what do you mean by mannerisms, behaviour?"

"It is as I said; we Greeed were nothing more than blank slates. What we know and how we are, how we act, how we respond to everything, all but a façade to interact with the world around us. We can't really feel anything, no sense of smell, taste, touch; not even emotion." I bit my lip at the last part; me and my big mouth.

A moment of silence passed over as we allowed Ankh's words to sink in. Ren's features had long softened after hearing much of the exposition, probably reconsidering his stance on the red Greeed. Ruby's face fell along with Yang, whose mischievous glint had long extinguished well into the tale.

"For the next several years, we dedicated our existence to serve our King as the land's defenders; us 5 against the hordes of Grimm." He paused.

"They didn't stand a chance." He smirked menacingly, causing a chill to wash over us. "As time went by, the Grimm were no longer that much of a threat and the people had felt more secure than they had ever been. But it wasn't exactly a happy ending."

"With us around, the people of our Kingdom had grown complacent, arrogant...greedy. For each passing day their desires grew and grew until they began turning on one another. We could actually _feel_ the wickedness in their hearts brewing, their selfishness overtaking what little sense they had and before long, war was on the horizon."

"The war…you mean the Great War? But that was over 80 years ago!" Blake spoke up in disbelief.

Ankh chuckled. "Horse shit. There was a war even before that, which paved the way for the warriors that would come to be known as the modern Hunters. You see, it was during that time that one of Gara's fellow alchemists had discovered a new element from one of the mines. This element is what you all refer to today as Dust."

"But that's impossible! Dust was discovered far longer than that; I should know, with my family being _**the**_ largest supplier in all of Remnant. You can't expect us to believe that it was only that recent of a time." Weiss argued, with some of them nodding in agreement.

"How much of your own history do you actually trust? You children have absolutely no idea the depths of depravity that transpired in the war of which I am referring to, the horrors people from all corners of the world endured; all because of one man, the Multi-King." Both Teams looked to one another in amazement and confusion; even I was completely absorbed into the story.

Ankh ignored our reactions as he fluttered on. "As time went by, the King found himself slowly descending to utter madness. For the sake of wealth and conquest, he launched a campaign that would not only unite the other Kingdoms under his banner, but subjugate its peoples under his rule and his alone. To do this, he demanded that Gara develop for him a method that would fully utilize the power of the Core Medals. It was with this order that the OOO Driver was created."

"So that's it…" I heard Pyrrha muttered.

Ankh's lips suddenly curled into a dark grin. "Yes, it was quite an ambition. But we weren't exactly any better as me and my cohorts started entertaining thoughts of usurping power for ourselves. We…grew envious and resentful of the things that the humans and faunus had that we Greeed lacked. Even so, as a reward for our services to the crown, we were all made Generals of his army. Those were the days, but we all knew that it was all a farce. We were nothing more than tools to the humans, only above the Faunus as slaves."

Blake's brows shot up like a rocket. "Slaves? The Faunus were slaves!?" Everyone turned to look at her, with Ankh sneering like a bully who had just pilfered her candy.

"Of course, why so surprised kitty cat?" Blake staggered back at the nickname; or was that just my imagination again? "N-Nothing." She jerked her head back and forth, looking away with uncertainty marring her features. It was then I realized that Ankh must have hit a sore point for Blake; was she a Faunus rights activist?

"So anyway, at around the same time that the King was making his plans, Uva accidentally stumbled upon a very unusual phenomenon." Ankh drew a Cell Medal out and held it up pointedly. "Apparently, a very brave soul was daring enough to actually steal a Cell Medal from my green comrade while he was doing his daily rounds. The fool actually thought our medals had monetary value in them and was hungry; desperation can make anyone do the stupidest things I swear."

"Hey, the guy was hungry right? Can't you be a little more sympathetic?" It was Blake again who had voiced out her disapproval.

"I could, but that would just mean that I actually felt something for the fool, now wouldn't it?" the ebony kunoichi glowered in contempt at him. Well Ankh, you just lost yourself a fan, and in record time too.

"Expectedly, Uva caught the guy before he could even flee. Just as he was busy painfully reminding the thief of his place, a silver slot appeared as the medal was inadvertently brought near his head."

Nora shuffled in her seat with unease, causing Ren to snake his arm around to comfort her. "Uva was more than a little curious as this was the first time that it ever happened. Then again, we always did our best to distance our medals from humans in fear that it would bring in the wrong attention, and as the would-be thief had proven; it did."

"He recounted to us that he was reluctant but curious in seeing what would happen; we weren't all that willing to waste medals even back then. He was rewarded with the creation of the very first Yummy." He paused to let that sink in.

"Like us after first awakening, it was a blank slate, but completely subservient to Uva; hanging on his every whim. After disposing of the meat sack that it spawned from, he discreetly led the creature back to our base for examination. It was a homunculus not unlike us, but born from Uva's Cell rather than a Core. With this new discovery, we began making plans to accumulate an army under us to help instigate a coup. It was through this that the rest of us realized we too could create our own Yummies. Like Uva; me, Kazari and Mezool could produce each of our own with a host. Gamel on the other hand, could only create one from his own body. The Yummies had the added benefit of producing Cells whenever they fulfilled or lived out whatever their host's desire was, and through that we continued to grow in power. We had managed to reach a level that even the strongest of Hunters could hardly scratch us."

Nervous glances were exchanged amongst the group, me included. "The Yummies were completely impervious to conventional weapons and aura, with only Core Energy being able to truly destroy them."

"Wait, is that why we could barely hurt them while Enrique can?" Ruby asked. Ankh nodded.

"Exactly, the only exception is Mezool's Yummies which are weaker compared to ours, so you can probably take them. But another thing about us is that; and you better not get any ideas when I tell you this so pay attention, when we lose a sufficient number of our Cores, we lose most if not all of our invulnerability, rendering us just as susceptible to normal attacks. That one can vouch for me as he actually blew a few holes into Kazari after we took three of his Cores." He pointed to Ren, who earned an approving smile from Nora.

"Even then, we cannot truly be destroyed as our Cores each contain a fragment of our consciousness, and the Core Medals are all but indestructible." He paused again to take a long and deep breath. "And that children, ends our lesson for today. Now get the hell out!" he spat before swiping the Core Medals in one swift motion.

"You know birdy, you can be a real jerk most of the time. But I guess I can't really blame you for being that way after hearing the absolute crapper that was your life." Yang said, with Ruby nodding in agreement.

"The only reason why I'm even enduring this torture of a school and you brats is because I'm still aiming to return to full strength and then some. Amongst all of my fellows, _I_ was the most powerful." He rose up from the floor and looked down haughtily at them, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Well, if you are indeed a veteran as you so proudly claimed…then maybe you could teach _us_ a thing or two." Pyrrha wondered aloud.

I swear a full _minute_ had to have gone by before Ankh found his voice again. "Huh?"

"Hey! That's a great idea; you could land work as a combat instructor here Ankh. I'm sure Professor Ozpin has a vacancy for you." Ruby exclaimed, bouncing up from her seat. Even I couldn't help myself from putting in my two cents.

"You know, Pyrrha and Ruby have a point. If you actually want me to improve in fighting off the Greeed and Yummies that come our way, why don't you train me or us for that matter?"

"I'm no babysitter!" Ankh snapped, but I ignored it. "Ankh, you always tell me to do well in my training, but at the rate I'm going I highly doubt that I'd even go anywhere without someone giving me formal instruction. So…maybe becoming a teacher here isn't all that bad of an idea?"

"Come on, give it a try! So, what do you say, _Professor_ Ankh?" Yang smirked jovially, with the rest of us joining in with her.

Ankh hunched over as he clenched both of his fists and gritted his teeth. "You miserable…"

"Coco isn't that, like, the 6th set of clothes you bought in the last hour?" We all heard a muffled voice from outside. "Isn't that Velvet?" Weiss commented.

All of us peered through the door at the scene that was transpiring outside as two girls were conversing down the hall. One of them was a girl that looked like she could pass off as a model, while the other girl had bunny ears. I've seen her once or twice around the school before.

"Who are those two?" I asked. Ruby was the one to answer. "They're upperclassmen; the one with the bags is Coco Adel and the other is Velvet Scarlatina." I nodded as I looked to Coco, who was idly dismissing her friend's concern as she hugged the bags tightly to her person.

Ruby resumed her explanation. "They're part of Team CFVY, with Coco as the leader. As upperclassmen, they're one of the strongest around here." I cocked a brow in interest; just how strong exactly?

"So uh, I guess this is it for now guys. I'm gonna go to the city to have a look around. You know, see if I can buy anything useful for school." I stated as I entered back in while the others exited. "Yeah sure Enrique, see you later." Ruby waved goodbye as they left.

"Were you really serious about that?" I heard Ankh ask as he was looking out the window; I looked up from my bunk towards him. "Me becoming a teacher I mean. What would I even teach these snot nosed brats anyway?" I noted that there was barely any emotion to his tone, but I thought I could pinpoint a hint of…was that longing?

"What's wrong with that? If anything, it'd give you something to do rather than lying on your ass all day."

"Tch, the last time I taught anyone anything, they…" he trailed off before he could finish. "They…what?" I probed. Ankh looked over his shoulder back at me with his signature glare; which I had come to learn was his own brand of sign language for "Shut up!"

* * *

" _You exaggerating Velvet, I do not have a problem. I'm just being my usual fabulous self." Coco was staring at herself by the mirror with a new designer blouse draped over her, while Velvet was seated on her own bed looking on at her leader in concern. Coco whirled around to regard her friend and teammate. "How do I look?"_

" _You look nice, but we're getting worried about you. I swear Coco, your closet is about to burst." She held a hand out towards the mentioned wardrobe, with its doors looking like they were indeed about to break off from their hinges._

" _Oh, right. Could you be a dear and ask them if I could borrow their closet space?" Coco asked sweetly, as if she didn't even hear the faunus girl's observation. Unbeknownst to the latter however, a glowing egg sac the size of a beach ball was slowly developing behind the aforementioned closet, with its brood gradually piling in number._

* * *

Ankh and I were in the city checking out some of the book stores. Since the establishment we settled with didn't allow food, the red Greeed was left to remain outside as he was licking away at a Popsicle; not that he was complaining. He was still tapping busily away at his scroll finding out everything he could about the Kougami Foundation, as well as the Schnee Dust Company. He quirked an eyebrow at the various "questionable rumors" that the company was allegedly involved in. Ankh allowed himself to smirk; what some people wouldn't do for a quick buck.

After I was done purchasing a history book that detailed more of Remnant, I was idly reminded by Ankh's crack at the so-called "history" that I was going to study about, certain that it was riddled with a few inaccuracies. Frankly, I didn't care. If the standard curriculum necessitated that what was written on the texts and tomes was indeed considered as "fact", then there was very little that I or anyone else for that matter could do anything about it.

I walked up to Ankh who was leaning against a tree – the Popsicle long devoured and its stick protruding from his mouth.

"So, you done?" he asked, his eyes still glued to the scroll.

I sighed at his disinterest at anything other than that tablet. "Yeah, wanna grab a bite to eat?" the grumbling from his stomach was audible enough for both of us to hear. "Hrm…" he growled under his breath, but flanked close to me as we headed for one of the restaurants I spotted along the way.

As we neared the building, I spied a young girl that was leaning by the entrance with her arms behind her back. I couldn't well see her face from a distance, but Ankh stopped me halfway before I could. "Transform right now."

"Huh?" I quirked a brow at him; he rolled his eyes at me.

Without warning, he thrust the OOO Driver against my chest, causing me to drop my bag as I was forced to catch it with both hands. "Transform. NOW!" with a flick of his wrist, the King Combo was lined in front of my face. I snatched them without question, but before I could even take the O Scanner out after slotting them in, the girl called out to us.

"Hello."

I looked up before I could tilt the buckle. "Um…can we help you?"

"I just wanted to meet you." The girl smiled at me, causing me to blush now that I had a better look at her; she was really pretty. Ankh rolled his eyes as he palmed his face.

"Uh…any specific reason why?" I gaped, since it wasn't every day that a girl I hardly knew would just walk up and say she wanted to meet me. The other part of my brain told me that that line of thinking was inappropriate if it was under…different circumstances.

"So Mezool, how's Kazari doing?" I lurched back at the name that escaped from Ankh's lips; this pretty girl was Mezool!?

Her smile widened as a blue glow started to surround her, with me taking it as my signal to transform as well. With a tilt of the buckle, I ran the scanner through.

"Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

Now donned in my armor, I looked on ahead at the now fully formed marine Greeed and studied her appearance. Her head was strikingly shaped to resemble an Orca, with small red eyes closely knit above the bridge of her nose while a larger pair of blue ones was positioned normally below them. Draped around her regally was a blue cape that ended in a webbed fin-like pattern; with two small hooks emblazoned by the shoulders. A pair of "suckers" that were meant to express the tentacles of an octopus lined the front of her legs which were split down the middle by her ankles and ended at her feet; her cuffs giving the impression of form fitting trousers, complimented by high-heeled leather boots. The only imperfections were the tattered bandages wrapped around her torso and the darkened shade of her belt buckle; indicating that she was missing a few of her Unagi Medals.

The nearby crowd ran for their lives screaming as they beheld the spectacle, leaving only the three of us to battle it out.

" **Hello Ankh! It's been such a long time, looking good by the way."** She exclaimed while waggling her fingers at him. " **Oh? And this must be the new OOO. Tell me, what's your name OOO-boya?"**

"Humph, what are you doing here Mezool?" Ankh snapped at her, while I readied myself into a stance.

Mezool tapped her chin with a finger. " **Well, I was just curious about what all the fuss was about when Kazari left the other day so I decided to check out the city."** She shifted her eyes to bore into me. " **Imagine my surprise when I caught wind of a monster that was defeated by a pair of hunters. Of course, I took such an outlandish report with a grain of salt seeing as how that it was Kazari. I take it you were somehow involved?"**

"Well, I did have help with tha-" I felt a hard smack against the back of my head, with Ankh jerking his irritably towards her as he glowered at me. "Stop with the small talk and just fight her already!"

"R-Right!" the Tora Medal roared as I extended my claws out to lunge at her.

" **Ah, this will be fun. It's been a while since I've been able to stretch my legs.** " Mezool easily sidestepped to dodge as I swiped at her, enabling her to knee me in the stomach. Immediately buckling from the breath getting knocked out of me left my face wide open for a swift uppercut. She didn't even give time for my body to be pushed back by the blow as she jumped up to land both feet against my chest in a devastating kick. I fell on back the ground in a heap.

"Damn it!" Ankh ran up to meet her head on with a haymaker with his Greeed arm. Her reaction time quickly allowed her to flip back into a somersault before blasting a ball of water at him, which he sidestepped to dodge. With speed that I had never seen him display before, Ankh drove Mezool on the defensive as he fluidly matched her blow for blow. Guess he wasn't kidding about being a veteran after all.

Luckily, the energies of the Medals sped up my recovery before I drew out Medajalibur to dive in for another attack. Ankh must have caught sight of me as I ran towards them to swing at her; moving away just in time to provide me an opening. Unfortunately, Mezool's response to my attack was nothing short of phenomenal as she leaped back high into the air and landed on the rooftop of the restaurant.

"Get back here!" Ankh shouted.

" **Sorry you two, but I have other businesses to attend to, you know how it is for a girl like me, right?"** She blew both of us a kiss before disappearing in a puddle of water.

" _Goddamit_! That was a prime opportunity for either of us to have taken her Core Medals and _you_ blew it!" he jerked a hand at my direction glaring daggers.

"Me? Hey, I was doing my best out there in case you hadn't noticed. At least give me _some_ credit!" I cried with my arms spread out; I sure as hell wasn't going to take all the heat for this. My stern frown underneath my helmet softened when he suddenly buckled over clutching his Greeed arm.

"Ankh, are you okay?" I attended to him as he seethed in pain before pushing me away. "Get off me!"

"Look, I was just concerned about…hey, wh-where are you going?" I reached my hand out as he started sauntering off.

"To the Kougami Foundation!" he answered without looking back. "Why? Hey, wait up!" realizing that it was futile to argue further. I let out a frustrated growl before tilting the buckle back into place to change back. I quickly removed the King Combo to pocket them, relieved that he left me with means to defend myself in case even more trouble showed up. As I picked up my book from the ground, I narrowed my eyes in suspicion; what exactly did Mezool mean by "other businesses"? I soon had a very good idea to suspect what exactly she meant.

Oh, man…I hope I'm wrong. The next instant, I sprinted down the street as I whirled my head around in search of a vending machine. Much to my growing relief, a black and silver machine was situated near a movie theatre. Without wasting time, I rifled through my pockets before pulling out the only cell medal I had; thanks a lot Ankh. I sighed, "This'll have to do." I quickly went through the motions and drew out a Tako Candroid.

After pulling the tab, the mechanical mollusc twirled to life as he hovered around me. "Track down the Yummy, hurry!"

* * *

 _Velvet was gripping Coco's arm as she struggled to drag her team leader away from the cash register, forcing the latter to resist as a platinum credit card was held tightly between her fingers; a large and expensive pile of designer clothes waiting for her to be checked out._

" _Coco, I think that's enough!" Velvet yelled._

" _No!" Coco tore her arm away, swatting Velvet away to land on her rear. "I need it all! I have to have it all!" if the faunus girl had actually caught a glimpse of her friend's eyes underneath the aviators, she would have noticed the unnaturally blue glow emanating from them._

 _Back in the academy and atop Coco's closet, the sac had long burst open with a multitude of eggs steadily growing in number against the rest of the wall. Mezool could only smile as she felt more and more of her children growing stronger._

* * *

" _What? You actually fought against Ankh and OOO?" Uva was flaring as he took deep angry breaths before transforming. The others soon followed, with all four Greeed back to their true forms._

" _ **Indeed I have**_ _." Mezool crooned nonchalantly. "_ _ **OOO-boya wasn't much of a challenge, but Ankh's still just as sharp as ever. Too bad that new body of his can't keep up with his level of skill.**_ _"_

 _His rage boiling, Uva cut a nearby table in half before readdressing his azure comrade. "_ _ **Really? Well isn't that just fantastic. Anything else?**_ _"_

 _If Mezool still had a mouth, she would have smiled. "_ _ **Oh, nothing much. Only that we'll be graced with a generous helping of Cell Medals quite soon.**_ _"_

 _The other Greeed instantly perked up at this news._

 _Gamel was clapping with glee. "_ _ **Yay! Medals, medals, medals!**_ _" he sang as he did a small dance._

 _Kazari hummed to himself thoughtfully in silence; maybe he wouldn't have to work with restocking his supply after all._

" _ **Well then if you all don't mind, I'll be off.**_ _" Uva said offhandedly, although the other three could easily sense the edge of his tone._

" _ **Uva's angry. He can be a real meanie when he's angry.**_ _" Gamel commented._

" _ **Just leave him be, it'll be nice to have OOO be put in his place after what he did to me.**_ _" Kazari drawled as he leaned against an old couch._

" _ **He's just frustrated by his missing Cores, we all are. But he's always been a hothead, even more so than Ankh.**_ _" Mezool stated as she settled herself comfortably next to the feline._

" _ **Can't say I blame him, even I'd be a little cheesed off in his shoes.**_ _" Kazari agreed, before dozing off._

* * *

I was already well into my search as I trotted down the street with the Tako Can leading me overhead, garnering more than a few curious glances. I stopped to catch my breath as I leaned against a concrete porch. The Tako Can floated stationary above me before it seemed to react.

"What is it boy?" I know it's not a dog, but you work with what you get; deal with it.

The Tako Can grabbed me by the collar and tugged me up to follow it; I'm pretty sure if Ruby were here she'd probably explode from the cuteness. The persistent candroid led me on until we stopped in front of a clothing store. Leaning against the frame of the entrance was Velvet; what was she doing here?

"Uh, excuse me; Velvet right? Listen, have you seen anything unusual around he-…hey…hey are you okay?" my features softened in concern as I noticed her glumly hanging her head, her eyes glued to the sidewalk

She looked up to regard me; I didn't know if she recognized me or not but that wasn't the least bit important right now. "I-It's my friend Coco…she's, she's buying more clothes than she usually does. It's gotten so bad our _whole_ _room's_ flooded with her purchases. I'm surprised she hasn't bankrupted herself yet."

Oh boy.

"How long has she been like that? Is this unusual for her?" I inquired with a little more haste than I meant. Velvet merely shook her head.

"She does like fashion, but not to this degree. I guess it all started this morning after she got back from a shopping run. I didn't notice it at first, but after a few hours of buying what I could only guess was a truckload of clothes, that's when I started worrying. When we _try_ to get her to stop, she gets mad and violent." She hung her head again. "This isn't like her at all."

"Is she inside?" I pointed within the establishment, she nodded. "Maybe _you_ can reason with her. I don't know if it'll work, but at this point I'll try just about anything." I nodded as we headed in where she led me to the cashier. The sight that greeted us was unsettling to say the least; Coco was choking the lady managing the register, her shades having fallen off at some point and revealing the infuriated glint in her eyes.

"What do you mean my credit's no good!?" Velvet cringed at her leader's tone. I held a finger up to my lips as I motioned for her to follow me.

Hanging on for dear life, the woman could only talk so much with the limited air. "Please ma'am…you've passed your limit…we can't charge you…anymore."

" _ **NO**_! No, I need it. I need _**all**_ of this. Give me more, I want _**MORE**_!" her eyes flared with a bright sapphire blue light; _she_ was Mezool's host. Great, of all the times I was right. Coco tightened her hold around the cashier's neck – who by now was weakly prying the mad Huntress' hands away.

It was more than what either of us could take. "Coco!" Velvet called out. The fashion addict jerked her head in our direction to catch Velvet looking at her; deep worry written all over the latter's features.

"Coco please, this has gone way too far. Can't you see what you're doing? Let her go, now!" the bunny-girl pleaded. For a moment, I feared that Coco wasn't going to heed her friend's pleas, but not even a minute had passed that she released her hold. The cashier fell to the ground in a heap, taking big gulps of air before crawling away to safety.

Not a moment too soon, I slapped the OOO Driver around my waist and readied the King Combo, but held off from transforming; maybe it wasn't too late. You can't blame a guy for trying at least. I held both of my hands up in a placating manner as I treaded lightly towards her. "Coco, listen to us. You're not well, let's just go back to Beacon and we can all sort this whole mess ou-"

"You don't understand! I _**need**_ more clothes. There can't _possibly_ be an end to what I want! MORE! **MORE**! _**MORE**_!" Velvet cupped her mouth with both hands as Coco was literally pulling at her own hair like a madwoman. Before we could even continue to reason with her, the shattering of glass prompted us to dart behind us. Unless my eyes were playing tricks on me; again, a large school of what I could only best describe were 'mutant piranhas' was quickly swarming all around us, forcing me and Velvet to duck and head for cover.

Customers screamed in panic, with security quickly attending to the disturbance as they struggled to get everything under control; yeah that wasn't happening. These were definitely Mezool's Yummies born out of Coco's desire, as they frantically picked and pilfered as many of the clothes that were stacked and lined around the store. Coco herself eagerly tailed them as they pooled for the exit to hit the next store.

"Coco! Coco come back!" Velvet called out desperately. I flanked her side to grab her hand as we made a beeline for the exit. "Come on!"

"What the heck is going on?" she asked as we ran out of the building.

"No time to explain, we have to hurry or else-"

"OOO!" a loud voice halted us before we could catch up to the receding forms of the Yummies and Coco. In front of us stood a man with slicked back green hair, wearing a green jacket and a black shirt, black trousers and sneakers.

"Do I know you? We're kind of in a hurry!" I didn't mean to sound so forceful, but this was an emergency for crying out loud.

The man leered at us as he strode forward. "Not yet, but you will." As he trailed off, a green light and the clinking of coins surrounded his body.

Sigh, its official; the God of Remnant hates me. Why doesn't he just finish the job right here and now?

"Uva…" I gulped in dismay as the light dissipated to reveal an emerald humanoid insect that towered over us. He was even more menacing up close than in the show; his carapace sheened as the sun washed over him. Large Kuwagata horns protruded at the top of his head, his menacing green visor scrutinizing us.

A large pair of mantis claws jutted out of his shoulders and was drawn back down to the base of his spine, his mandibles clicking together ever so slightly. His torso was heavily armored, with the only deficiency being the tattered bandages wrapped around his legs and the buckle of his belt blackened in color. I had no doubt that his missing Batta Medals were the cause of that. We backed away as I held my guard in front of Velvet, feeling her hand grasping my shoulder tightly in fear at the monstrosity.

" **So you're the new OOO? You're even more pathetic than I thought.** " He held up a dual clawed hand as he shuffled towards us.

"What is that thing!?" Velvet cried. She had studied and seen all manner of Grimm almost her whole life and this being was definitely not a Grimm.

"That's Uva, the Insect Greeed." I quickly explained before scanning the Driver. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

Velvet's eyes bulged as she witnessed my transformation, no doubt feeling the surge of power as she was practically flanked behind me.

"Is he some sort of Faunus?" she asked after recovering from the initial shock.

"Nope, definitely not a Faunus, now stay close behind me!"

"I can fight, let me help you!" she quickly flanked my side and drew herself into a stance.

Uva seemed to ignore Velvet as he continued. " **You know,** **I've been wondering what kind of person Ankh picked to be the new OOO, but seeing you right now has been such a major let-down that I'm almost tempted to let you and that wench go.** " A surge of electricity danced around his claw. " **Almost…** "

"Are you sure about this Velvet?" I recalled what Ruby said earlier that the faunus girl was part of one of the strongest teams in Beacon, so she was certainly far above me in skill. And if the Uva here was anything like the one on the show or worse, then we were in for one tough fight.

Velvet nodded as Uva launched at us with a roar, his claws sparking with green electricity to dive into an overhead stab. I parried the blow, almost buckling from the sheer force; I could tell that he was aiming for his Batta Medal.

Velvet fluidly reacted as she landed a kick at Uva's ribs, pushing him back just far enough for me to counter with a slash. Sparks flew, with only a few cell medals spilled from the gash I made.

" **Gah! What the…?** " he ran a hand over the wound as it regenerated." **You insolent…** " he shot at us with a blast of green lightning from his horns. Velvet jumped clear from the full brunt of it just in time. Unfortunately, I wasn't as lucky as the attack hit me dead on, painfully shocking me in place as I endured probably several hundred to a thousand volts. Velvet winced in regret as she looked to my hunched and smoking form after the lightning dissipated.

"Sorry…" she apologized meekly. I hefted an arm up weakly as I whimpered. "It's okay…"

" **Die!** " Uva thundered as he was charging up another attack, only for Velvet to jump again and land her foot directly into Uva's face in a side kick. He was thrown back again from the force, as her aura was mixed into the blow. I shook myself out of my dazed stupor a few times, my vision blurring a bit as I watched Velvet grappling with Uva. Ruby sure wasn't whistling Dixie when she said Velvet was tough.

Velvet kept Uva steadily on the defensive as she delivered a flurry of roundhouse kicks to his midsection, parrying all of them with little to no effort. " **You're good for an animal. Almost makes me wonder why your ancestors didn't help themselves out of being our slaves.** " Caught off guard by the remark, Velvet faltered in her form. Uva's mandibles contracted into what could barely count as a smirk as he exploited the opening with a devastating slash across her right leg. With a yelp of pain, she went down to clutch the wound as she winced helplessly.

" **Now, for a little pest control.** " Uva raised a claw up to yet again dive in for the kill; aimed straight for Velvet's head, only to look up as he caught a familiar chime ringing through the air.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

I leapt high into the air, uncaring if this was going to further damage my body. But when I finally got a hold of myself and witness Uva about to skewer Velvet, it wasn't even a choice. As I went straight into a dive kick, the rings from the King Combo lined in front of me to imbue the attack with their energies to strengthen it. I came through as the kick connected to the insect Greeed's face.

The green brute unceremoniously flew back, while I landed in an exhausted heap; it would be a while before the medals replenish my reserves. As luck would have it, I felt my hand lightly brushing against a small circular object; could it be? Still lying on the ground, I plucked my prize with what little strength I had left and held it up to my eyes.

 **Yes**! Yes, yes, yes! It was Core Medals; and not just any Cores, but the Kuwagata and Kamakiri! I _finally_ had enough to make a Full Combo.

After healing her wounds with what little aura she had left (Uva wasn't exactly a pushover) she helped me to sit up by leaning me against a nearby wall, her features still lined with shame that she allowed for me to get hurt. I so wanted to assure her that it was fine, but I was still too dazed to even speak.

Remembering Uva, we frantically searched for him in case he was readying another attack, but none came, with only the breeze passing through to graze us.

"Guess he punked out…for now at least." I muttered weakly, panting.

"What did he want anyway?" Velvet asked, taken aback as my armor vanished after I flipped back the buckle into place.

"I'll explain after we save Coco..." Velvet shook her head. "You're hurt; we need to get you to a hospital!"

"If Coco doesn't return to normal soon, it won't matter. I'm the only one who can save her. Time is short and-" I winced from my aching, "we have to make it in time before the Yummies…mature."

"What? You mean those things that were with Coco?"

I gently grasped her collar. "Please, you have to trust me…do you trust me?" I asked through ragged breaths. Reluctantly, Velvet nodded before hefting me up by the shoulder. Even in my weakened state, I could still feel the King Cores feeding my body with their energies to help revitalize me – well that's strangely convenient and a blessing in disguise that I hadn't removed them immediately. Lord knows I was going to need it.

I swallowed a lump before asking her another question. "Do you know where the Kougami Foundation is?"

* * *

 _In the center of Vale, a grand skyscraper was standing proudly over the denizens of a very quaint city. Amongst those very denizens and looking up with contempt at the top of the edifice was a man named Nathan Westborn. Or, he would still be known as Nathan Westborn if it weren't for the symbiotic relationship his body was currently sharing with the Bird Greeed Ankh, with whom he could not survive without._

 _He waded his way arrogantly through the doors, unheeding of the patrons and employees going about. His own intentions clear as day. Ankh walked briskly up to the receptionist, who looked up from her computer to regard the newcomer. A brief spark of recognition seemed to run across her eyes for a moment before her lips curled into a smile._

" _Ah, you must be Ankh. Mr. Kougami has been expecting you." She looked to her right as she pointed towards a silver elevator. "His office is on the top floor."_

 _He huffed as he spun on his heel, leaving the woman back to her work. After entering the elevator and pressing the button, he was immediately bombarded with the most extravagant music that had to have ever been composed in the history of Remnant. (_ _ **Please play Kougami Foundation BGM**_ _). He cringed in irritation as he endured the tirade to his ears because of his enhanced hearing; yet another slight against him by the old man._

 _A twinge of relief washed over him as he finally exited the infernal contraption and spied a large door from across him. Flanking each side were the blue haired secretary and the mysterious biker, who oddly enough was still wearing his helmet. Each of them took a hold of the regal door to open it, revealing the occupant inside and the man that Ankh had the displeasure of making his acquaintance._

 _ **Kousei Kougami**_ _, standing in all his fine glory whose very presence was heralded by rose petals and serenaded by that same wretched music that was in the elevator. For the occasion, the President was dressed in a crimson silk business suit and polished black loafers. Ankh rolled his eyes at this farcical display of grandeur._

 _Kougami beamed as he spread his arms wide. "Ah, Ankh! Welcome! Welcome to my marvellous company. I cannot tell you how good it is to finally have you here." He briskly marched up to the red Greeed to firmly grasp his shoulders. The latter was sorely tempted that very moment to drive his hand through the man's gullet, but seeing that that was tactically unsound considering where he was, he suppressed the urge._

" _I came here to tell you off old man! You can't have my medals. Besides, what could a human like you even want with them?"_

" _Fe! Come inside so we can discuss this matter more properly. Miss Haven, cancel all of my appointments for today!"_

" _But sir, you have a vid conference with the President of the Schnee Dust Company in an hour."_

" _Then cancel that immediately as well!" Kougami declared without looking back. Miss Haven shrugged before proceeding to cancel all of the upcoming appointments on her scroll before she along with the biker entered the office._

" _Sit." Kougami held his hand out towards a Corinthian leather sofa. Ankh hesitated before shrugging, taking a seat and setting a foot up the other knee. He steepled his fingers together, sharp eyes keenly observing the old fool as he took his own seat by his desk._

" _So Ankh, I understand that you have set your base of operations at Beacon Academy. I think you are well aware by now that me and Professor Ozpin are under a collaboration to assist you and OOO should the need ever arise. And, as I have mentioned before, the resources of my company are freely yours and Enrique's to use." He paused to hold a finger up. "Provided, you spare a cut of all the Cell Medals you two collect after every battle with either the Greeed and/or Yummy. A delivery airship will come by every now and then to collect the company's share, where new equipment will be given in exchange."_

" _So, what say you?"_

 _For the entire time, Ankh was listening on in silent deliberation. Kougami could tell a mile away that he was just stalling. The red Greeed knew how to play hardball. Fortunately, he knew how to play too. His answer finally came when the bird man allowed a smirk to grace his lips, which slowly grew from a malicious snicker to a throaty guffaw._

" _You insolent fool! Do you really think you can pull the wool over my eyes? You're planning something aren't you? I've seen it all before; men who think they can harness power beyond their control. Deeming themselves masters of their own fate aiming to dominate others to their control. Whatever your so-called ambition is, it will fall. Like those before you."_

 _Kougami's grin didn't falter in the slightest; in fact, it actually grew as he listened on to the proud Greeed's criticism of him. "My ambition?" he leaned back in his chair, mirroring the younger man. "Why, it is ambition itself!"_

 _Ankh cocked a brow. "Excuse me?"_

" _Tell me this, what happens when a child is born?"_

" _What does any of this have to do with children?" the Greeed's lops quirked into a grimace._

" _Answer the question." Kougami closed his eyes, seemingly pleased about something._

 _Ankh paused in thought before tilting his head. "It cries?"_

" _Yes! And why does it cry!?" Kougami suddenly bolted upright, his gaze boring deeply into his guest._

" _Tch, how should I know?" Ankh turned away apathetically. By the corner of his eye, he spotted Haven shifting ever so slightly._

" _It cries…because it wants something!" Kougami explained as he marched up to the seated Greeed. "When an infant cries, it could only ever want its mother's milk. Same with man, how do you think that we have come to survive after all these years from the threat of the Grimm, hm? It is because of man's desire to live! For that, our ancestors were driven to build tools to defend themselves and learn to wield them in battle. The same desire that gave birth to you Greeed!" he bellowed before turning away._

" _To me, desire is nothing but power; a power that all living beings possess and has driven us to even newer and greater heights. It is neither good nor evil, serving the individual's purposes accordingly to their own will! It is the very engine of advancement!" he jerked back at full force to face his audience._

" _THAT! IS MY!_ _ **AMBITION**_ _!"_

 _Silence dominated the entire office, with the red Greeed left for the very first time at a complete loss for words. He slowly rose up from his seat and marched slowly in front of the desk._

" _What are your terms?" his tone was neutral, but a trained ear could easily sense the apprehension behind it._

 _Kougami pursed his lips in thought. "70 %!"_

" _Never," Ankh muttered under his breath as he drew out his Greeed arm, ready to pounce. He was halted by the cold barrel of the biker's gun blade once again precariously jabbed; this time, against the back of his head._

" _Move, and I shoot." His voice was muffled by his helmet, but Ankh could still feel the edge surrounding his tone. If he was still in his old body, dispatching this speck would have been child's play, but seeing as how Nathan's body wasn't exactly honed for the level of combat that Ankh was at, his reaction time was sluggish at best._

" _Ankh, I think you may need to rethink your position here." Kougami motioned for Haven to activate the video screen. Appearing on the display were two people that Ankh recognized; the other one he could hardly care about._

" _Enrique?" he knit his brows in confusion at the image. "What are you trying to pull?" The duo was currently busy trying to activate one of the Ridevendor by the theatre that Enrique stumbled upon prior._

" _The RideVendors are all designed by the Kougami Foundation, which means I hold the master control. No matter how hard he tries, he won't be able to activate it unless I allow it," Kougami smirked. "The same goes for the Medajalibur."_

 _Ankh hung his head dangerously as he glowered at the man, his aura building into a rage. The biker stepped back a few inches with his gun still held up, more ready than ever to shoot if he had to. Haven hardly responded, but her eyes were narrowing critically at the scene._

" _For the past hour, clothing stores all over Vale have been under attack by a large concentration of Yummies, I take it you already know of such a disturbance Ankh?" Kougami stated nonchalantly towards the latter, seemingly uncaring of the enormous power emanating from him._

" _So you're blackmailing me now? Without cell medals for me to give in exchange, you're going to hold out?" he smirked evilly at the old man. "You drive a hard bargain there Kougami…but how much are you willing to endure when I decide to go all out?"_

 _Kougami rolled his eyes; his lips still curled in that jovial smile he would always wear. He slowly held a hand up and brought it forward near the bird Greeed's arm; a faint glow soon came to life from his fingertips as their auras mixed._

 _Like a thousand needles prickling through his skin, Ankh felt a jolt of pain entering his arm. He grabbed at it as he doubled over in agony, a mixture of bewilderment and shock crossing his features._

" _What the hell!?" the pain was strong but bearable, and strangely nostalgic. He looked up to see Kougami looking down at him as if he hadn't just done anything very few people had done before._

" _What is this…? Kougami you…you…!"_

" _70 %!" the company President repeated._

 _Ankh shifted his eyes in panic, realizing that he might as well be trapped. "40 %!" he finally blurted out._

" _70 %" Kougami persisted._

" _Fine, 45 %!" Ankh continued._

" _70 %~" the other man crooned._

" _50!"_

 _Kougami sighed, "70 %; no more no less."_

* * *

I was scratching my head in frustration, now back to full strength after about a _quarter of an hour getting this stupid thing to_ _ **work**_ _!_

Velvet was holding onto a handful of cell medals that I managed to spill out of Uva using my sword, her lips pressed together impatiently. "Maybe you should put in another one?"

"I don't want to waste what little cells we have in case I need ammo for Medajalibur." I gave the machine a few stern kicks. This is just great! According to a news bulletin from my scroll, Coco's Yummies were tearing through all of the clothing stores in Vale, with only the two of us knowing her involvement. Ruby and her Team were last seen assisting the local law enforcement, but for how long I wasn't willing to find out.

"Where's the bullhead I called in earlier? It should have been here by now." Velvet commented as she looked around the sky for any airships.

"Maybe they got into a little traffic?" I half-joked, humor at a time like this? Yeah, I'm terrible person.

Said airship was being pelted with a swarm of Piranha Yummies near the area of where the disturbance was occurring.

* * *

 _As a Greeed, it pained Ankh to give up anything. Unfortunately, he needed Enrique and Enrique needed the Kougami Foundation's equipment to help in their crusade against the Greeed._

" _FINE! I'LL GIVE YOU 70 %!" Ankh screamed as Cell Medals burst from his hand and scattered all over the floor and desk._

" _Pleasure doing business with you," Kougami replied as he opened the box that had been resting on his desk the entire time, revealing a cake with "70 %" written in red icing on it._

 _Ankh's eyes widened like saucers, "You…"_

 _Kougami ignored him as he proceeded to tap a few buttons at a keyboard._

* * *

Velvet and I were leaning against the vending machine now, exasperated and close to calling it quits until we were suddenly pushed back by it converting to bike mode.

My companion and I exchanged a look before speedily setting ourselves up on the seat. With helmets secured and the engine purring, I slammed the ignition to race straight to the scene of the battle.

* * *

 _Yang was punching and blasting away at the Piranhas with Ember Celica, with Ruby by her side slashing and shooting as many as her Crescent Rose could reach. Weiss was slashing and jabbing through the swarm while riding along her glyphs, whereas Blake was keeping up with as many as she could with her Semblance, ensnaring them with Gambol Shroud's ribbon before slicing them to bits._

 _The streets were literally paved with Cell Medals for each kill they made, but they didn't care nor dared to direct their attention away from the swarm. The police had retreated earlier as their forces were decimated faster than the Huntresses, leaving the four man team to clean up what was left._

" _There's too many of them!" Ruby commented between breaths, feeling the onset of exhaustion._

" _At least they're not super tough like the other ones we've dealt with so far." Yang pointed out, intercepting a Piranha with a quick jab before it could gnaw at her head._

" _Where are they all coming from?" Weiss inquired irritably as she was flanked by a few of them._

 _Blake darted her eyes around as she hacked more of the piranhas, when she suddenly narrowed her eyes to slits as she spotted a familiar figure by the distance. "Isn't that Coco?"_

 _All eyes followed where Blake was looking to, and indeed they could make out the vague silhouette of Coco Adel being surrounded by a larger school of Yummies. But strangely enough, they were simply circling around her, leaving the girl unmolested._

" _What's she doing here?" Ruby asked before shooting another at another piranha._

" _What's that she's holding?" Blake spied a suspicious glowing ball that the leader of Team CVFY was holding between both hands._

 _The purring of a motorcycle's engine caused them to wheel their heads around, with a lone biker slowing to a stop within their circle. With the removal of the helmet, they cried out in recognition, "Ankh!?"_

 _Ankh spun his head around back and forth, idly dodging a piranha with a tilt of his head without looking._

" _Where's Enrique?"_

" _We don't know! We've been going at this for about an hour now and there's still no sign of him." Weiss explained with a hand on her hip._

" _Hm, have you taken care of the host?" Ankh nudged his head towards Coco, eliciting astonished eyes to widen and mouths to gape._

" _ **SHE'S THE HOST!?**_ _" the girls exclaimed in unison._

 _Before they could even do anything about that revelation, another roar of an engine drew their gazes. This time, two people flanked together on a single Ridevendor rode up next to the first one – with Velvet and Enrique shortly revealing themselves as the riders._

* * *

"Hey guys! Ankh, what's the status on Kougami?" I had a pretty good idea now why the Ridevendor wouldn't budge earlier.

"Let's just say we are now under official contract with the Kougami Foundation." I quirked a brow at him. "There was a signed document and everything. Not one of my proudest moments, and it is a deal I am already starting to regret."

"Will you two save the small talk for later!? We're in a crisis here!" Weiss boomed as she lunged through a few piranhas to skewer them, before they exploded into a pile of cells.

"Just destroy the egg sac that that girl is holding onto. That'll stop more from being spawned." Ankh explained aloud.

"Coco!" Velvet called out as she jumped off the bike to race straight for her leader and friend, skirting past most while beating a few of them back.

"Oh right! Hey Ankh, guess what I got! ~" I crooned as I held up a complete 3-medal set of Uva's Cores. The bird Greeed was at a loss for words as he gawked at the trinkets.

"A-Are you-" He lifted an arm up to try and grab for the Cores, but I quickly clenched them tightly into my palm.

"Yes. I am." I stated firmly, before dismounting the bike.

This was it. I took a deep breath as I unlatched the King Combo from their slots to replace them with Uva's. With Team RWBY providing me with some much needed cover, I tilted the buckle to scan.

 **KUWAGATA!**

 **KAMAKIRI!**

 **BATTA!**

Holograms of green Core Medals swirled around me as three more lined in front before fusing together to slam against my torso.

" **GA~TA GATA GATAKIRI-BA! GATAKIRIBA!** " the OOO Driver chanted as my armor formed. The Gatakiriba Combo looked exactly like it did in the show, with it being green all over, Kuwagata horns protruding at the top of my head and the Kamakiri Swords still sheathed under my forearms.

In that instant, I felt...I couldn't well describe it really. To simplify, it was like a huge surge of power flooding throughout my body to supercharge it. I unleashed a deafening roar as waves of pure energized pressure threatened to push everyone and everything around me back.

"RRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the ground beneath my feet quaked and cratered as I bellowed, destroying a few Yummies mindlessly diving down to snap at me. Even the Ridevendor wasn't spared as it was knocked straight against a nearby building.

Keeping their distance, Team RWBY could only gape at the fierce display. "Is that…Enrique?" Ruby wondered aloud, half-expecting someone to answer her.

"Yes, what you are seeing right now is a Full Combo. Or in this case, it is referred to as the Strongest Combo." Ankh commented offhandedly, nostalgia washing over him for the second time that day.

"Why is it called the Strongest?" Blake inquired, her curiosity returning.

As if to answer her, I launched myself in the direction where Coco and Velvet were, where the latter was desperately pleading for her friend to come to her senses. The armor's power flared to life as I willed it to activate. Within seconds, I split into three, then five, then seven, until I could no longer keep count of how many duplicates I was making.

"He turned into an army!?" Weiss shrieked, freaking out at the sight. Blake was equally stunned as well, silently remarking that even she couldn't make that many clones without tiring herself out.

* * *

"Coco please, snap out of it! It's me Velvet!" Coco ignored her as her eyes were far too glazed to even notice the rabbit faunus.

"More…more…more…" she muttered absently, her mind close to withering.

Having had enough, Velvet tugged at the egg sac that Coco was clutching tightly, but try as she might, her leader just wouldn't let go. In one last act of desperation, she closed her eyes and kicked the egg sac with all her might, silently praying that it wouldn't hatch or break to give way for more Yummies. Before she knew it, the egg flew high into the air prompting Ruby to shoot at it with Crescent Rose on reflex, puncturing the outer shell before it dissolved into nothingness.

As for me and my clones, we literally enveloped the Yummies as we electrocuted, punched, kicked, and slashed away with everything we could as we decimated them without mercy. Cell Medals fell to the ground in droves with each destroyed Piranha Yummy. Determining with what little intelligence they had that they were close to being beaten, the crowded together tightly to form one giant Piranha Yummy composed of their own bodies.

"That sure is a fine catch! Get it?" Yang exclaimed as she looked around her team with a mirthful grin.

" _ **NOT NOW!**_ " the others yelled out.

"Let's finish this!" I and my copies announced in stereo as we took out OOO Scanners and swiped them across our Medals simultaneously.

" **SCANNING CHARGE!"**

We all leapt into the air and performed flying sidekicks straight into the gaping maw of the gigantic Piranha Yummy. Inside, my copies and I started furiously attacking it as Cell Medals continued to collapse at our feet. Before long, our tirade paid off as the giant amalgamation could no longer endure the heavy punishment we were all dealing and it went up in a large explosion, causing medals to rain down heavily on the ground.

Ankh would have been dancing in jubilation at such a haul; the streets were now flooded with cells. But a small army of Taka and Tako Candroids shortly alleviated what I could only assume was the agreed share that was discussed between him and Kougami. Ankh kicked at the ground in frustration as a Taka Yummy tauntingly grabbed one that was about to land on the Greeed's waiting and willing palm.

Now back on the ground, the clones were quickly absorbed back into my body, leaving me as the only one remaining; huh, it actually kind of tickles really. But laughing was the last thing that I wanted to do as the consequence of using a Full Combo was quickly catching up to me. The discharge of power from that Scanning Charge must have taken more out of me than the King Combo did a few hours ago.

"Enrique?" Blake asked as I shakily rose to my feet.

"It's...a bit hard...to pull myself together..." I could barely lift a muscle as I tried to reset the belt back into standby mode. "Is Coco…okay?" I rasped as my armor dissipated, prompting Blake to hold me up by the shoulder, with Ruby shortly helping her.

"She's fine. Look there, see?" Ruby pointed to Velvet and Coco, where the latter was also being held up by the shoulder unconscious. I had no doubt that I would soon be…join…ing-

Velvet's grateful smile was the last thing I ever saw before darkness overtook me.

"That is the consequence of a Full Combo," Ankh explained to all of those still conscious.

* * *

 _Back in Beacon, Ozpin and Glynda were studying the various footages that their strategically placed surveillance cameras managed to record; Ankh's exposition to the Teams, Kougami and Ankh's business deal, and the battle with the Piranha Yummies._

 _"The ability to create an organized army in seconds; it's almost too hard to believe."_

 _"And yet it's happened and the proof right before our eyes. Not to mention the talk Ankh had with RWBY and JNPR; very enlightening." Ozpin looked to the screen as the replay of the Scanning Charge played out. "I believe our young friend has only barely scratched the surface of what he is truly capable of. With the right amount of training, he could be a formidable force the likes of which Remnant has never seen before."_

" _Are you certain?" Glynda cocked a curious brow at the seated headmaster, who only gave a silent glance in answer. "Hm, we may need to re-evaluate a few parameters."_

" _Young Enrique will be fine; it's Ankh I'm more worried about." Ozpin interjected, before playing another scene that had piqued his interest from the start of their earlier viewings._

" _Glynda, do we have a vacancy?"_

* * *

 _The girls took Enrique back to their room to rest despite his dorm being across from theirs. After setting him on the bed, there was a knock at the door. Weiss opened it to reveal a tired looking but otherwise relieved Velvet._

" _Is Enrique here?" Velvet asked._

" _He's resting."_

" _I see. Well, tell him that Coco's back to normal and is recovering in the infirmary…uh and the school's already working on a way to fix the damages to the city and the…shops." She scratched the back of her head awkwardly. After all was said and done, she left._

 _Ankh leaned against the wall next to the door. "I take it you humans are wondering what happened to him?" he questioned. They nodded._

" _Using all three Medals to make a Full Combo allows Enrique to use the full power of the Greeed they belong to. Seeing as how he's human, his feeble body can't handle that much raw power and it strains him greatly." He paused to ease his breathing, even this mortal host was weary; what a pain. "Now this I ask you, imagine what will happen when all of the Greeed regain their Cores and are restored to full power?"_

 _Team RWBY looked to one another in worry, unwilling to even conceive such a possibility. "Remnant was easily close to the brink of destruction back then. I have no doubt history will repeat itself if we don't collect more of the other Cores soon."_

 _Weiss crossed her arms. "Oh yeah, well what about you? What happens when you're the only one with all of the Core Medals?"_

 _Ankh looked to her in indifference before shrugging. "We'll just have to wait and see now, won't we?"_

" _That's not what I-"_

" _Weiss let it go! You might wake Enrique." Ruby softly pleaded to her partner, gently checking the slumbering young man if he was stricken with fever. Weiss simply continued to glare at the red Greeed, who had also dozed off to sleep._

* * *

 _In the abandoned mansion, Kazari was still lounging on the couch, doing his best to conserve his diminished reserves. "_ _ **Looks like your Yummies have been taken care of by OOO and his friends, and not even single medal to show for it. Terrific…**_ _" He drawled sarcastically._

 _Mezool simply wagged her finger at the lazy cat. "_ _ **Oh, I wouldn't say all of them.**_ _" A small school of Piranha Yummies soared into the living room, before collapsing into a generous pile of medals_

" _ **Medals!**_ _" Gamel cheered as he worked to absorb them._

" _ **Save some for the rest of us!**_ _" Uva spoke up; still sulking from the Core he lost to OOO. The Scanning Charge attack was quite unexpected as he was close to cleaving the head of that faunus bitch clean off her shoulders. It hurt; like really, actually hurt! He clenched his fist in anger, silently swearing revenge for the humiliation he suffered._

" _ **That's it…just a little more and I'll be all set to make my move.**_ _" Kazari thought to himself as he picked up a handful of medals to absorb._

* * *

 _The next day in Beacon Academy, Glynda Goodwitch was standing in front of the gathered students, with her riding crop drawn out to put down any would-be troublemakers._

" _Attention students. Today is a special day, as I am here to announce that a new teacher has been admitted into the faculty." Whispers and murmurs flooded the training arena, which were quickly silenced with a whip of her crop._

" _Please give a warm welcome to your new combat instructor. Professor Ankh, if you please." Glynda stepped back to allow for the man of the hour to reluctantly walk up to the arena, his shoulders slumped and a few veins popping out of his forehead._

 _After taking a very deep breath, he looked up to eye the large crowd overhead. Under the corner of his eye, he spotted Enrique who was nervously waving at him with a sheepish grin plastered on his face. "Hello…I…am…Pr-Pr"_

 _Glynda arched a brow at him, and then started moving her lips silently to help lead him on. "Pro…Professor…A-A-A-" he was snapped out of his stupor by a crack from her crop._

" _Professor Ankh!" he sighed in exasperation. "For whatever shitty reason that I'm here, I'm your new combat instructor."_

" _Miserable humans," he muttered under his breath._

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS**

 **Taka (x1)**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (x2)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"Remember I told you guys I have no Aura or Semblance?" I recalled.

"Well, we're your friends. Why wouldn't we help you?" Yang asked with a grin.

"Thank you, Blake, for helping me unlock my Aura." I thanked her.

 **Next Time: One's Soul and Bond Among Friends**

* * *

 **A/N:** I hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter as well as the introduction of the Stronger Combo and Team CFVY. Look forward to the next chapter. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	6. Chapter 6: One's Soul and Bond

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the sixth chapter of Remnants of Desire! Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]). I am glad you enjoyed the previous chapter which introduced the Stronger Combo along with a team up with Velvet, fighting against Uva. Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we?

Henshin!

Third Person View

'Thought'

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

A few days had already passed since the Piranha Yummy fiasco in Vale, and as such, things around here have really calmed down. Well, as calm as a combat school like Beacon can get that is. Needless to say, I was half expecting that the Greeed would make their move and wreak havoc somewhere within that time, but so far, none such incidents had made themselves known – at least not yet.

Ankh wasn't especially worried, because in the off chance that his old gang would ever cause any trouble (and they would), he'd be the first to know. Unfortunately, his own priorities as of recent have been…hijacked. It didn't exactly involve hunting down Cell Medals; so much as it involved the molding of the minds and bodies of Remnant's future.

After being admitted into the Academy as an official combat instructor by Ozpin and the entirety of the faculty (through hours of what I could only imagine were "negotiations"), the red Greed was given full reign over training the students, provided, that Professor Goodwitch would oversee his teaching performance (and intervene if needed).

As a consequence, the both of us would be holed out in our room, where every night he would go on and on ranting about how absolutely worthless, slow or inadequate most of the students were; with me serving as his one and only ear. Yay!

"They can't be that bad," I reasoned, "I mean, they've been training almost their whole lives since they were kids. For instance, look at me! I've only been going at this for like, a few weeks now, and compared to them I suck." Hey it was true, and after the harsh beatings that I had to endure, I didn't exactly care about a little self-deprecation.

"That's right, you do suck!" Wow, way to build up my self-esteem there Ankh. "But in my day and my own real body, I would have trounced them like nothing at their level of skill." He snorted as he sorted out the Core Medals in the casing I bought yesterday.

"Oh yeah, what about Pyrrha? I hear she's a champion fighter where she's from, what can you say about her?"

"She's good, but her reaction time needs work. I admit she worked me up to a sweat, but only because of this damn body! Ozpin actually provided some time for me to get accustomed to my host before any formalities could be settled."

"How?" I asked as my curiosity grew.

Ankh seemed almost hesitant to answer. "He sparred with me."

"Sparred with you? You actually sparred with Headmaster Ozpin?" I quirked a brow at him. For the few times that I managed to lay my eyes on Professor Ozpin, I never really took him as a sort of "hands-on" kind of guy. Then again, appearances can be deceiving, meeting Ruby taught me that. Still, seeing as how that he was the Headmaster of Beacon Academy; a combat school no less, it'd only be logical to assume that he had years of experience under his belt and shouldn't be a pushover.

"How'd it go?" I continued to probe, leaning against the backrest of my swivel chair.

Again he hesitated. "Just do your homework."

"Oh come on, can't you at least tell me?"

He looked up from the casing to glare at me. "All I can say is this; if he was able, I would have preferred him to be OOO rather than you."

My eyes widened a bit, taken aback by that declaration; and maybe a little…hurt? "Really? He's that good?" he clicked his tongue.

"Just do your homework – now! I am a Professor after all, so if you don't do as I say I'll be forced to punish you." I rolled my eyes, "Oh sure, _now_ you're taking the job seriously." He snickered.

The next day, I was at the newly repaired cafeteria with Team RWBY and JNPR in uniform (except Ren and Nora, who were getting some food). Ankh was with me, despite technically being considered as a member of the faculty now, but the guys didn't seem to mind.

It may or may not have had something to do with Ankh's way of going about his duties of training the students. Just replace "instructor" with "taskmaster" and you might get a good idea. In fact, it was like the Greeed was even embracing his new role. Now I know what you're thinking, that maybe he's warmed up to it, but anyone who had any idea of what he's like could tell a mile away that he was just using it as an outlet to relieve stress.

Me and Jaune in particular were his favorite "projects". In all my life, I never would have imagined myself to ever garner the attention of a teacher, not even at my old school. Now, I'm getting all the lovely benefits like: an extra 20 push-ups to go with the 30, running a 25-mile marathon, 2 hours of weight training, getting pounded by drones, and having the stuffing beaten out of us by Ankh.

Gee, am I living the dream or what?

"You multiplied into an ARMY!?" Jaune cried out as he almost pushed himself out of his seat.

"Yeah, but I wasn't too hot on what happened afterwards," I answered. "It took a lot out of me, so much so I couldn't even move a muscle without straining myself." I winced at the memory, remembering thanking Ruby and her Team for taking us in when we couldn't reach our dorm.

"Tch, what else do you expect from a feeble sack of meat?" Ankh scoffed, licking away at his Popsicle.

I jerked a thumb up to myself. "Oh yeah, well this "sack of meat" just beat up an entire army of Piranha Yummies! Huh? What do you think about that?" I added smugly.

"At the rate you're going, you'll be lucky enough to annoy a Boarbatusk and nothing else. The same goes double for you Arc!" he bit out as he was finishing up his treat.

"Aw, I've been working myself to dust these past few days under you. What more do you want?" Jaune whined as he slammed his head against the table.

"How about actual combat skill for one, or are you really at all as competent as your transcripts say you are?" Ankh was critically boring his gaze into the blonde, who was squirming in his seat.

"Y-You actually saw those?" he quivered.

"That wench Goodwitch practically drummed me on what I was supposed to do. That includes assessing all of your personal profiles." He circled his eyes around, indicating all of us.

"You know, I'm starting to reconsider the idea of having him around as our teacher." I whispered to Jaune. "Yeah," he agreed.

"What was that!?" Ankh snapped.

"Nothing!" we both exclaimed as we shot up straight.

"So, there's a Combo based on each of the Greeed?" Pyrrha asked, hoping to change the subject.

"Yes. Aside from the King and Strongest Combo, there are 4 others that haven't been revealed yet. But one thing's for sure, is that each of them will grant the wearer; meaning me, the powers and abilities of the Greeed that they belong to. Ankh, do you mind giving another lecture to us here?"

Ankh snorted before tossing the stick behind him. "No can do. We've already told them enough, any more would be pushing it and would compromise our position. I'd rather have all of my cards right where I can see them thank you. Besides, you still owe me for losing to Mezool."

I ran both hands over my face in frustration. "You're still sore about that? Ankh, just let it go already, there's always next time."

"Is Mezool really that good?" Yang asked with a little more interest than she would have wanted.

"All of us are well adept at both armed and unarmed combat. It's because we learn so fast that we managed to advance to such a level that we are now." Ankh explained, earning an intrigued smirk from the blonde brawler.

He then regarded me again to scold me more, but was sorely interrupted by an orange haired spitfire.

"I'm back!" Nora called out loud as she hefted a large plate of food on the table. Whoa, I guess her appetite was back on track because her plate was loaded; fried chicken, biscuits and gravy – lots and lots of gravy!

Ankh's eye twitched when he spotted the dish. "Get that plate away from me!"

"What's the matter? It's just – oh…!" Ruby asked before realizing.

"What's the matter birdman, friend of yours?" Yang teased.

"It's more like he doesn't like the idea of eating his own kind," I informed Yang, even though most birds were omnivorous.

"Try being offered a monkey as food and see how you like it!" Ankh glowered at the blonde.

Nora began to eat one before craning her neck to Ankh. "It's food. Why don't you try it?" she offered.

"Never," Ankh muttered.

"Come on, Ankh. You can't eat ice cream forever you know," Pyrrha pointed out.

"I just don't like eating bird meat. In fact, I've never had the need to eat before in my entire life, but ever since saddling myself with this…flesh puppet, I've found the pangs to be an annoying distraction."

"Hey, watch it! Even though Nathan can't speak for himself right now, that doesn't mean we shouldn't treat him or his body any less. He might have family." As I trailed off from my reproach, it was only now that I actually wondered if Nathan even had family or friends. That thought alone made me shiver inside; are they worried about him, could they be looking for him? This was something that I had to look into…Ankh doesn't need to know.

I then looked to Nora who; after swallowing a huge mouthful of chicken, was giving the red Greeed a once over. The grin on her lips made me nervous. "Uh, Ankh?" I patted him on the shoulder for him to look up, only to have a drumstick shoved into his mouth.

His brows knit closely into a deadpan frown at the spitfire before removing the edible appendage. "I dare you to try that again." I palmed my face to his challenge.

I decided to ignore the two of them for the time being to resume the matter at hand. "Okay guys, let me be clear. If the Greeed ever manage to gather all 9 of their Core Medals, they'll be literally unstoppable. Imagine a person that can fight or move indefinitely without ever tiring, and completely invulnerable. Now combine those attributes with the kind of ruthlessness and brutality the Greeed have, and I think you have a pretty good idea how bad the situation is going to be." I pressed my lips tightly as I finished, gauging their reactions.

Pyrrha head was hung and her expression thoughtful, while Jaune was looking close to wetting himself. Ren's was a lot more controlled; his stoicism a bit unnerving as he kept eyeing Ankh suspiciously, who was doing his best deflecting another drumstick from Nora. For the past few days since Kazari, I wasn't under any illusions that he hated the Greeed after what the rogue feline did to Nora, and his relationship with the red avian wasn't exactly improving.

It was most evident when the two of them were sparring the other day at class. Ren wasn't holding anything back, while Ankh easily dodged and parried almost everything the guy could throw at him without even trying. If it wasn't for Professor Goodwitch calling off the match, it would have devolved into a full blown scuffle.

After that, I tried talking to him _._

 _Yesterday…_

" _Ren, hey Ren wait up!" I called out as I ran up to him as he was nearing the doors. He turned to look at me with a blank look, but I could still feel the tension in the air around him. "What happened with you two back there? It looked to me like you really wanted to hurt him."_

 _For what seemed like forever, Ren muttered something to me that only I could hear._

" _I was."_

 _My eyes shot up like rockets. "Wait, you mean…you were seriously trying to hurt him? Why? Look Ren I know you don't like the guy but-"_

" _He can't be trusted Enrique, and if I were you I'd steer clear of him as soon as I get the chance. You've seen how he treats us; treats_ you _. He doesn't care, and I bet that the moment we're no longer useful to him, he'll turn on us without a second thought." His tone was merciless, and I could see that he wasn't holding anything back on what he thought of Ankh. I took a deep breath and sighed._

" _Ren, I know how frustrating it can be. But the thing is – I don't really trust Ankh that much at all." Ren quirked a brow. "Well, I trust him to keep us close to him as possible for protection, but when it comes to actually putting our lives on his hands? That's when I definitely draw the line. It's not that I hate him or anything…it's just…I just think that he's not all that bad once he warms up to us."_

 _Ren sighed as he closed his eyes. "Enrique, you're a nice guy, alright? But I just can't put our lives at risk for what he wants."_

" _Well, if you can't trust him, then why don't you trust me?"_

" _What?"_

" _Look, just trust me that I can keep him under control. And if you and I want to keep him from getting any ideas, we should just train and keep being useful to him. Lord knows I've been doing a lot of that lately." I quirked a pleading brow to him. "So what do you say?"_

 _Ren just stared at me with that same penetrating gaze he gave me when we were finding Nora, but after a moment his lips curled ever so slightly into what I can only assume was a smirk._

" _Alright fine, I trust you. You helped me save Nora after all, so…I guess I can settle for that much. But once he steps out of line-"_

" _Hey, you don't need to tell me twice. Just, give it time and…maybe we'll see." I sincerely hoped it wouldn't come to that._

Present…

I heaved a sigh as the memory was still fresh in my mind. I looked towards Ren again and saw that he had already abandoned his surveillance of Ankh and was now eating a biscuit; I smiled at that. Even though I was practically busting my butt off with the training, my chat with Ren opened my eyes a bit. I really didn't want to fight Ankh if the time ever came, because even though he's not exactly that much of a nice guy, I could tell that he had a major chip in his shoulder.

I didn't exactly know what it was, but I would always notice him staring into the distance sometimes. When he wasn't busy complaining, brooding, or working, he'd be in the school courtyard sitting on the trees relaxing; no scroll or medals to fiddle around with.

Whatever happened to Ankh in the past must have made him into what he is today, so if that was the case, I wasn't afraid to give him a little chance. Still, it's just better to be on the safe side.

I was broken out of my musings once again by the sound of an enraged Ankh trying to shove Nora away from him, who was still persistently feeding him some chicken - doesn't this girl ever stop?

As the scene went on, I felt a hand lightly brush against mine; it was Blake. "So Enrique, there's been a matter that I've been wondering about. Since you don't exactly have an aura or semblance to assist you in a fight, why don't you have it unlocked?"

"Unlocked…? You mean my aura?" I quirked a brow at her; auras can be unlocked? That sounds interesting, but what if I don't even have any?

"That's right. With aura, you'll be able to become durable enough to resist damage in a fight. However, I must warn you that there is a limit as to how much can be expended. Yes, aura can help protect your body and even enhance your attacks, but long term battles tend to exhaust your reserves which can be lethal if you're not careful. Your semblance on the other hand, is something that you have to discover and awaken on your own, since it is the very "expression" of your soul."

I nodded in understanding, except about the whole "expression of my soul" part, how exactly did that work? Hm, maybe I should give it a try. It couldn't hurt, if anything, I'll have even more of an advantage when I take on the Greeed or Grimm for that matter. I looked to Ruby, who merely gave me a nod of her own; a smile gracing her lips. Since she was one of the few that knew I was from another world, I could confine my secret to her and trust her for it.

"Okay shoot, how do we do this?" I asked Blake.

"Well-" she was abruptly cut off from her explanation by Ankh being slammed against the table in front of her, with Nora straddling him.

"What the hell!?" I exclaimed, how in the hell did Nora do that?

Unheeding of the attention they were garnering, Nora continued to try and shove a chicken breast down the red Greeed's throat, with Ankh valiantly putting up as much of a fight as he was able. "EAT IT! EAT IT!"

"You insolent wench, get off me this instant!" he gritted out.

"Come on Nora, leave him alone." I heard Jaune bit out amongst the noise the two were making.

"Well, you are eating for two there Ankh, just take it already." I managed to blurt out, if only to stop them from going to blows.

"When I say no…I mean NO!" Ankh cried out in anger before splitting his Greeed arm off from Nathan's then prone body and flicking Nora on the nose, then shoving her off with as much force as he was able. The red haired spitfire landed ungracefully in the arms of Ren, who simply shook his head as if this was normal for Nora.

In that moment, both the Teams of RWBY and JNPR managed to finally catch a glimpse of Nathan without the hairstyle. It was somewhat unsettling to actually have a comatose man lying on the table like he was just a part of the scenery. Ruby turned her head away while Weiss was visibly blanching in either disgust or fright. Blake's reaction was more subdued, but I could still see a hint of sympathy in her eyes, while Yang just seemed indifferent as she held her head against the table by her arm.

"You know, he's kind of cute." This earned her stares from everyone; including Ankh.

" **Tch, you humans** …"he muttered under his breath before reattaching himself, and sitting up on the table to cross his legs. "For that little scrap, you're all going to get extra hours of weight training tomorrow. NO EXCEPTIONS!

" ** _WHAT_!** " we all cried out as we almost fell off from our seats _._

* * *

 _ **Remnants of Desires**_

* * *

 **Chapter 6: One's Soul and Bond**

" _Ankh?" Blake questioned as she spotted the Greeed sitting up on a tree by the school courtyard. The red avian looked down to study the kunoichi with an almost critical stare; he then scoffed mockingly to look away._

" _It's a little surprising." Blake quirked a brow, "Excuse me?"_

" _That you've managed to fool them this long." If Blake would have reacted, she was very good in controlling it._

" _I don't know what you're talking about."_

 _He jumped down from his perch and stood up to tower over her, with Blake maintaining her ground. "Humans can be so dumb. All it takes to fool them is a tiny black bow, eh kitty cat?" he slowly reached his hand up to grasp the accessory, only for her to back away._

 _This time, her shell cracked a bit. "Please…don't."_

" _What are you so afraid of?" he asked her, but strangely enough, it wasn't laced with his usual vitriol._

" _I have my reasons." She tensed, snaking her arms around herself._

" _Please, as if I care about such things. I'm just curious as to why you get to hide who and what you are and Velvet doesn't have to." His lips quirked into a smirk, already aware of her answer._

" _I just…I just couldn't stand it anymore. If they ever knew…"_

" _You mean your Team?"_

 _Blake's eyes shifted. "Yes…"_

" _I see, that is your desire then." He commented thoughtfully as he circled around her._

 _Blake was eyeing him closely, keeping her guard up. "What?"_

" _You desire human compassion and acceptance; companionship. You are envious of the camaraderie that comes with belonging somewhere other than the Faunus. Tell me, have you never experienced that with…your own kind?" his tone of voice was almost mirthful, as if saying those very words tickled his tongue._

" _I…I have. All my life I've lived with people that I always considered my family; my parents, my friends. I've never wanted for love or affection since we were always so close…even when things started to change." She paused for a moment as her head hung low, her eyes glued to the ground._

" _But somehow…it felt like…it wasn't enough."_

 _Unexpectedly, Ankh drew out a Cell Medal out of his hand and raised it pointedly towards her. Blake's eyes widened as she caught sight of the silver coin and backed away, quickly reaching for her Gambol Shroud._

" _You know, it was really dangerous for you to tell me those things considering what I am. Although, I still would have found out eventually. We Greeed can read the hearts and minds of anyone so long as their desire is strong, and you my dear…are practically_ brimming _with it." His smirk grew as he shuffled near her._

 _Gambol Shroud was now fully drawn out as Blake got into a stance, knowing full well what Ankh was going to do to her; that is if he even was going through with it. He flipped the coin into the air before absorbing it back into his arm, eliciting a curious brow and a twinge of relief from the feline kunoichi._

 _The red Greeed just ignored her reaction. "Lesson of the day, never tell a stranger of anything that might compromise you. Enemies will take full advantage of that for all its worth."_

" _Were you seriously considering making me into a host?" she still held her guard up, just in case he'd tried anything._

" _No, and even if I did I wouldn't. I prefer to conserve as much power as I need. Even I'm not that impatient, still, it's always good to have something to fall back on." That notion didn't settle well with the cat faunus at all, making her even more wary of him._

" _Is that what we're all to you Greeed – hosts?"_

" _Yes." He answered simply. "Human or Faunus, just as long as that person has desire, we wouldn't care less who or what they are." That still didn't reassure her at all, if anything, it only told her that she should watch Ankh more closely._

" _Well then, I'll be off." He suddenly sauntered off with a wave of his hand._

" _Where are you going?" Blake asked._

" _Anywhere that isn't boring." He answered back without looking, causing her to shrug and hang her head in thought. Ankh knew that she was a faunus, which worried her considering everything she's done to hide her true heritage from the school and her friends. However, judging by the talk they just had, Ankh was neither interested nor cared about such a thing, which eased her a bit. She shook those thoughts away for now as she started heading to the library, which was her favorite place to be whenever she needed peace and quiet._

* * *

After that whole fiasco in the cafeteria (I swear the weirdest things happen there) I was at the library hitting the books. A reasonable tower was beside me as I was fully drawn into studying everything I could. Much to my amazement, Remnant really wasn't that much different to Earth. Oh sure, there were some things that were still behind compared to things back home, but Remnant was arguably more advanced in terms of technology aside from the Scroll. Also, unlike Earth, they had an actual alternative energy source that might as well have been an all-purpose solution to the environment; Dust.

What worried me was the Creatures of Grimm. There were many conflicting sources regarding their origins. Some believed them to be animals possessed by evil spirits or even the tortured souls of animals themselves. Not to mention that they're drawn to negative emotions. It worried me since I was not exactly a stranger to such feelings - after what happened 5 years ago as well as 8 years ago.

What was universally accepted was that they had been around since at least the dawn of mankind. Also, it was because of the Grimm that walls were built around the Four Kingdoms to prevent them from being overrun as they wouldn't hesitate to kill humans. Grimm didn't kill humans for food. They killed just because it was in their nature.

A pen and paper were laid out in front of me as I took notes; listing down the names, behaviour and habitat of each individual species of Grimm. Even though Professor Port always seemed so enthusiastic, he spent more of his time regaling us with his past heroic exploits than giving us anything remotely useful. I often found myself dozing off near the end of the class, which more than once earned me a slap on the wrist - literally.

"Let's see..." I continued to read when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up and caught myself locking with those golden yellow eyes again.

"Would you like some company?" Blake asked asshe took a seat beside me.

"Sure," I answered. I didn't mind. Besides, I needed a break.

"Those are a lot of books," Blake observed.

"I need to catch up. I...didn't exactly do well in my last school." It wasn't technically a lie, since I was always an average student. But regarding which school, that's where I was just keeping it close.

"The History of Vytal, Records of the Great War, and Chronicles of the Faunus War," Blake read through the titles out loud as she saw my reading selection.

"Professor Oobleck isn't the easiest teacher to understand when he zooms across the room," I told her.

"He's a fast talker isn't he?" she asked rhetorically.

"At least Professor Goodwitch's class isn't so boring," I stated. "I just hope Ankh can keep his head on his shoulders when he's teaching us." While Ankh wasn't exactly an inadequate teacher (and by inadequate, I mean normal), he didn't exactly enjoy it either. He begrudgingly accepted the job as a way to let off some steam, but also because it would help him monitor my training more closely. Plus, the monthly salary he was receiving served more than an adequate compensation. At least he was allowed to build his own weapons from scratch; two short swords with red trimmings.

Blake eyed me over after rearranging my books. "You know, for a guy that hasn't awakened aura yet, you do pretty well in a fight."

"Only because of the Core Medals, everything else I had to work for. Without the armor I would have been killed twice over and then some." I was uncomfortably reminded of the pain I've been enduring lately – both at training and fighting. Still, it didn't exactly bother me that much...I stopped caring about myself a long time ago.

"So what brings you here?" I asked her as I shifted in my seat to face her.

"I like to read, plus it's quiet enough for me to think."

"Ah…I see." Team RWBY's room could get pretty noisy at times. Yang liked to play her loud music, Ruby talked way too much (especially on a sugar high), and Weiss would tear her hair out just to get them to quiet down. Me and Ankh could actually hear it from across our dorms, not that I minded, but Ankh would often muffle the sounds with a pillow over his head. It was a no brainer that it'd be more than what an avid reader like Blake could handle.

"I was hoping to find out more about the King from 800 years ago," Blake added.

"No you won't," I answered her.

"Why not?" she arched a brow at me, causing me to sigh.

"Well Blake, there's often a reason why people like The Multi-King would much rather be forgotten. Even though I don't exactly know that much all about him yet, I can still tell that he was someone that did so many awful things that everything having to do with him had to be covered up."

Blake stopped in thought before giving me a faint nod. "I guess we're just gonna have to wait until Ankh can tell us more."

"Yeah, that's at least better than nothing." I conceded _._

* * *

 _ **In the Kougami Foundation…**_

 _Kougami was overlooking a line of boxes that contained the parts necessary to modify Team RWBY and JNPR's weapons, which would be sent to their rooms along with a birthday cake and card each. There was a third and last cake that was above all of them, which was meant specifically for OOO as there was an "extra special ingredient" he added to give it more flavour._

 _In the middle of his examination, the doors opened to reveal the mysterious biker, who for once wasn't wearing his helmet._

" _Ah, you're here." he said before passing him the stacks of boxes. "I contacted Ozpin this morning. You shall deliver these to Beacon Academy to their respective addresses. Hop to it!"_

 _The Hunter nodded before exiting the office with his cargo in tow._

* * *

After finishing my conversation with Blake, I found Ruby in The Forge. It was a workshop where students were allowed to use to upgrade and modify their weapons. I was pretty stunned when I first found this place a few days ago when Ankh wanted to make his weapons, as this was definitely not someplace that you usually came across in a normal school. Then again, Beacon Academy was anything _but_ normal.

The red hooded scythe wielder was busily attending to her weapon…and by that I mean she was literally hugging the thing tightly against her, with hearts and everything. She sure loves her weapon.

"Hey Ruby," I spoke up as I approached her, eliciting a jump and a startled squeal. She quickly spun on her heel to address me.

"You didn't see that, did you?" she squeaked.

"Saw what?" I feigned ignorance.

"N-Nothing," she bought it, nice.

Ruby seemed to relax as she placed Crescent Rose on the table in front of her. I stared at the weapon for a few seconds before looking up. "Say, uh…I just got a call from the Kougami Foundation that they'll be sending in some parts to help modify your weapons to help fight the Greeed. Are you good for that?"

She squealed again, only this time in sheer delight before drawing me into a hug. "Seriously!? That's so cool! Now I'll be able to have Crescent Rose do what your Medajalibur can!"

I grimaced from the crushing embrace, but held on for dear life. "Well, I don't think it'll go that far. At best, you'd only be able to finally do some damage to the Greeed and make them spill Cell Medals."

She broke away from the hug, still grasping my shoulders. "Aw, so I won't be able to cut through everything?" she pouted.

I scratched the back of my head. "I don't exactly…cut through everything. If that were the case, then the things that I ran Medajalibur through would be bisected along with my target permanently. I shudder to think the collateral damage from that."

Ruby hummed thoughtfully to herself before letting go, her cheeks flushed. "I guess you have a point."

I chuckled lightly before leaning back against the table. "Say Ruby, I gotta ask. Are you okay? I mean, were you really okay after what Kazari…did to you?" I asked her carefully to gauge her reaction.

Again, Ruby hummed thoughtfully as she went near her scythe. "I never thought I'd actually see the day that there'd be someone faster than me. I mean, I've always been able to move fast, too fast for even other people to see. Since Yang and I trained together all the time, she's one of the few people that can anticipate whenever I attack."

"What about the others, who are they?"

Ruby smiled widely. "My dad and uncle."

I winced a bit from that, but kept it in. "They sound nice." It was then that Ruby's smile faltered. "Oh…Oh Enrique I'm so-" I held a hand up to placate her.

"It's fine, let's change the subject. So, your semblance, why do rose petals come out whenever you use it?

"Don't know." She answered simply, causing my shoulder to slump a bit.

"Okay, this one I'm asking you - last one, what will you do the next time you meet Kazari?" Ruby's eyes widened before adopting a confident smirk.

She lurched her hand quickly to grab her scythe and drew it in front of her. "He'll say hello to my Crescent Rose, hiyah!" I ducked as she inadvertently swung it at me, before frantically apologizing _._

* * *

After doing my best to assure Ruby that I was fine and didn't hold it against her that she almost…cleaved me in two. I wandered to the gym as my ears caught the sound of someone training. When I arrived, I saw that it was Yang, who was busy pulverizing a punching bag. I blushed a bit as I looked her over, with her only articles of clothing being a yellow tank top and short shorts. The blonde was practically a bombshell of a woman that guys back home would die to go out on a date with. And I'm pretty sure she knew it too.

Wait. Why in the hell did I start thinking that? Gotta get my mind out of the gutter – stupid brain.

I shook my head before walking up to her. "Hey Yang, are you training?"

With one last jab, she stopped to take a sip from a nearby water bottle before turning to face me.

"Gotta keep myself in shape. Those Greeed are tough I'll give them that, but just wait 'till they get a load of who they're messing with!" she declared boldly, a smirk not unlike Ruby's gracingher lips. I could easily tell that she was still reeling from seeing her sister getting almost torn to shreds by Kazari.

"Yeah, they're not exactly pushovers. I mean, if it wasn't for the armor I'd be done for. Ren and Velvet get most of the credit though…without them I would've been a goner either way."

"Well, we're your friends. Why wouldn't we help you?" Yang asked.

I smiled. I never had so many friends before aside from Zack. Even before the accident, I wasn't really all that social. It felt…nice that there were people who cared about you, and who you cared about back.

It really did…

"So, you wanna spar with me?" she smirked, probably suspecting that I was ogling her earlier.

"I…I'd rather not right now. Ankh put me and Jaune through the ringer yesterday and it isn't exactly advisable to over-train since I'm just a beginner." I held my hands up respectfully to her.

"Don't worry. I promise not to hurt you too much. I'll hold back," she promised.

"No. Really. It's okay, I'll hold off the sparring for tomorrow thank you." We then heard a faint rumbling through the air – I looked down at my stomach before sighing in embarrassment. She couldn't help herself from giggling at me.

"I guess I'm hungry. Well, I'll see you later Yang." I waved a hand as I bade farewell, leaving her to continue on with her training.

As I was on my way to the cafeteria, I heard a yelp from down the hallway. I swivelled my head around before sauntering to where I suspect was the source. What I found made me more than a little ticked off. It was Team CRDL, the resident bullies. Professor Goodwitch once mentioned to me after I saw them bullying Velvet a few times that since Beacon was training the next generation of Hunters, warriors that should be able to steadfastly defend themselves, it was only natural to try and stand up for yourself.

Unfortunately, what they were doing wasn't just plain bullying, it was outright racism and bigotry. I guess even in different worlds there are things that some people just wouldn't do. Right at that moment, they were bothering Velvet again, cornering her against the wall and pulling at her ears.

Darting my head to my right, I spotted a Kougami Foundation Ridevendor. I silently walked up to it and drew out the only two Cell Medals I had - my "allowance" from Ankh - and punched them in to take out a Tako and Taka Candroid each.

I pulled on the tabs and pointed them in the direction of the disturbance. "Mess those four up, but leave the girl alone." The candroids nodded before hovering swiftly to Team CRDL.

"Hey, what the hell!? Ow! Hey stop that! Ow!" Cardin cried out as he kept trying to deflect the Taka Candroid pecking away at him.

"Ew, what is this!?" Dove spluttered as he wiped a huge splotch of ink off his face that the Tako Candroid spewed on.

As the relentless machines kept on pestering them, Velvet carefully sneaked away before seeing me waving her over. The both of us escaped, leaving the four jerks to their trouble.

We made our way to the courtyard where we sat on a flight of stairs. "You okay?" I asked her in concern.

"I'm fine," she assured as she massaged her right ear. I staved off from speaking to give her time to recover. When she finally calmed down, that's when I asked her my question.

"Why do you let them do that to you?"

Velvet paused as she hung her head, her eyes seemed welded to the ground as if she couldn't look at me. "They'll get tired of me eventually."

"No they won't." I stated. "Bullies often never let go of the people they torment. If anything, they consider the poor soul their "favorite" pass time." My tone was certain, as I was all too familiar with being bullied back home.

"But what can I do? If I do anything, it'll just give them more reason to dislike the Faunus."

"Do you want them to like you?" she looked up to me and saw that I was staring at her with a blank but stern face, boring deep into her to see if she understood what I meant.

"N-No…not really." She stammered.

"Then why should you waste your time on them? Listen, there's always going to be people who are going to look down on the Faunus, and I don't know if that'll ever change or not. But I do know this, letting them run all over you isn't going to make things any better. You either tell them off or shove them off."

"That's what the White Fang does!" she countered. That terrorist group I've been hearing about lately? Oh boy, this is gonna be tough.

"Are you like the White Fang then?" I asked her. She frantically shook her head no. "Then don't be. You're not just a Faunus, you're a young girl with a bright future ahead of her and friends who support you. Never doubt that, because when the chips are down; Coco, Ruby, Blake, Yang, Weiss, Pyrrha, Jaune, Ren, Nora and me will always be here. For you. No matter what!"

Velvet's eyes widened after I finished that little speech of mine, which even I was surprised that I even pulled off. Her eyes moistened a bit as she struggled to fight back tears.

"You-You really see me as a friend?" I inwardly face palmed.

I gritted my teeth tightly. "Yes!" I exclaimed like it was so obvious. "What part of what I said just now didn't make sense? Velvet, don't ever doubt or cut yourself short, because there are people here who love you. Never waste that, because being alone is more painful than getting hurt." I was now close to tears myself. I couldn't stand this. I just couldn't. Here was someone that still had so much to live for and already she was doubting them.

Unlike me…

Velvet was now looking at me with tears welling in her eyes, and her lips pressed tightly, but I could tell that it wasn't out of sadness. I didn't mean to make her cry, but it had to be done. If Velvet was ever going to make the bullying stop, then she had to take a stand.

"Hey!" a voice boomed. I instantly recognized it and jerked my head around. It was Cardin and his cronies, standing atop the steps and glaring down on us. I glared at them despite myself, spying a now crushed Taka Candroid clenched tightly in his hand. That only pissed me off even more.

"Is this yours?" he threw it down the steps, bouncing over twice before landing against my arm. I stood up slowly from where I was seated, ready to fight these guys if I had to.

That is until, "Step away from my friends you ass!" Coco called out from down the walkway, with Fox and Yatsuhashi flanking her sides. All of them were giving their own glares at the thugs who actually had the gall to call themselves Hunters.

Cardin just rolled his eyes. "Or what? You're gonna pay us off? Last I heard you're broke Adel, a penniless leader with no money to her name." I could actually hear Fox growling under his breath at that thoughtless crack, while Coco just kept her face into a stern frown.

"So? At least I don't go around being an utter jackass to other people that don't even deserve it."

"Psh, please! She's an animal. Vermin like her don't deserve to be at this school."

"I could say the same for you!" I spat back at him, with Velvet right behind me clutching my sleeve. Cardin glowered down at me menacingly.

"Looks like we got ourselves a regular tough guy here boys, why don't we show him what we do to guys who think they can take us?"

Coco stepped forward defiantly. "Move, and we swear that you won't get out of here in one piece." Her voice was dangerously neutral, but you'd have to be a complete idiot to not take that threat at face value.

The courtyard fell silent as we all stood in place, keeping our guard up in case one group or the other would budge. After what felt like forever, Cardin's shoulders fell. "Let's get out of here fellas. These animal lovers deserve each other." With that, CRDL made their way back into the school; grumbling amongst themselves.

When they were finally out of sight, I released the breath that I was holding in and relaxed. I then felt warm arms curling up around my neck, and realized that it was Velvet. She was hugging me, most likely in gratitude for defending her.

The rest of Team CVFY came down to join us, with Fox patting me on the shoulder and Yatsuhashi nodding in acknowledgement. Coco was still between them with her hands on her hips.

"Enrique, right?" she asked. I nodded, "Uh, yeah?"

She held her hand out in front of her. "Thanks…for…everything. Saving me and Velvet I mean."

Darting my head up and down from her face to her hand, I bewilderingly accepted to shake it. "It was nothing."

"It wasn't just nothing. If it weren't for you, I'd probably be a vegetable right now." She quirked her lips in a grimace, no doubt reminded of the incident involving the Piranha Yummies.

I licked mine after being released from the handshake. "So…how you holding up? I mean, what with you being…"

Coco's smile grew bigger. "Funny thing about that actually. A few days ago after recovering from the infirmary, I received a generous stipend from the Kougami Foundation. It's not exactly much, but more than enough for me to get myself back on my feet. Guess I won't be shopping anytime soon." Yatsuhashi snorted back a laugh while Fox just rolled his…eyes? Okay, that's weird.

Relieved that all was at least well with CVFY, I took my leave and headed to the cafeteria to eat. Hot damn, was I hungry.

* * *

 _As Velvet was waving to her new friend, Coco gently held her shoulder. "We heard the whole thing."_

 _Velvet looked over her shoulder at her leader and team as she slowly turned to face them. "Like Enrique said Velvet, you're not alone. So please…please don't hold it in." Behind her aviators, small tears were trailing down her cheeks as the fashionista pleaded, with the other two looking on sombrely as they inched closer to help comfort them. Velvet wiped her own tears away with her sleeve as she beheld all three of them; her friends, a warm smile slowly grew on her lips as she and Coco embraced._

* * *

After helping Velvet against Cardin and his gang, I was back at the cafeteria happily munching away at my lunch of pasta and garlic loaf. As I allowed to my tongue to savor the taste of the sauce, meat and noodles, icy blue eyes were staring daggers into me from across where I was sitting.

Not exactly in the mood to entertain whatever it was the heiress wanted of me, I continued to eat like she wasn't even there.

"What is up with you two anyway?" Weiss wondered aloud to me.

"Huh?" I asked through a mouthful, causing her to flinch in disgust.

"Don't play me for a fool. You know he's using you," she reminded me. "You might as well be _his_ bodyguard for all I care. I don't understand how you can be so subservient to someone without expecting anything in return."

"Yeah, I can imagine you'd think that." I said matter-of-factly.

She snapped an eyebrow up as she glowered. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, seeing as how that you've probably lived almost your entire life without wanting for anything, I guess it'd be hard for you to understand someone who'd be working for nothing."

"Th-That's not true!" she stammered. "I just don't think it's healthy to have that kind of mindset."

"Well, it's not like I'm doing it for _absolutely_ nothing." I pointed out.

"What do you mean?" she inquired more genially this time.

I looked down at my meal. "At least I get to help other people. That's…actually all I ever want."

"But what about yourself?" she insisted. "Don't you care about what _you_ want?"

"Not really, no. If anything, just as long as everybody else is okay, then I'm okay." I explained as I bit into a loaf.

She scrutinized me a for a bit longer, until it seemed to dawn on her that I was serious. "Fine, if that's how it is, then I won't pry anymore. It's not like it even matters all that much to me anyway." She huffed as she turned away and crossed her arms.

Oh great, a Tsundere. Well, a little small talk while eating never really hurt. "So Weiss, your family owns and runs a Dust Company, what is that exactly? I asked. "Does it involve anything else?"

She shifted in her seat as she reverted her gaze to me, a hint of pride in her voice as she motioned to explain. "Well, if you must know, the Schnee Dust Company is _the_ largest import and export of Dust in all the Four Kingdoms." Her eyes shifted to the side a bit, "At least, not for long."

"What do you mean?"

"The Kougami Foundation has been steadily increasing in their transactions of Dust; rivalling even our yearly output rate by at least 10%. In fact, just last year we were ready to make a joint deal with them to make up for the losses." She huffed again, "They denied any and all attempts to go through with it."

"That doesn't exactly surprise me all that much. I mean, you've seen what they can make first-hand, right? The Ridevendors, the Candroids, even the Medajalibur." I counted OOO's arsenal down with my fingers as I pointed them out.

Weiss harrumphed. "At first we didn't exactly know how they managed to exceed us so fast, but as of recent, now I have a pretty good idea." She leaned in closer by the table. "It's those Cell Medals, isn't it? Just how is it done anyway? They just look like coins to me."

I rolled my eyes up in thought. "Well, even though Cell Medals may look like coins, each of them contain a negligible amount of Core Energy. That's how the Greeed are able to make hosts out of people, and how they power up Medajalibur."

Weiss blinked her eyes to slits. "If my family could just get even a whiff of those medals, well, the opportunities for alternative means of power could be endless." Uh oh, I'm starting to get the wrong vibes here.

"Weiss, I think it's not really that good of an idea to meddle with things involving the Greeed. I mean, Cell Medals _are_ powerful once you have enough of them, but the risks are just…I don't know. You've been a host yourself, right?"

"That was just the one time. I definitely won't make the same mistake again." She declared with fervor.

I sighed. "Whatever you say."

XXX

"What I wouldn't give to be a hero like you," Jaune mused as I found him sulking after training in the arena by his lonesome.

"A hero like me? How so?" I asked as I sat with him by the stairs.

"Come on, with that armor of yours you've saved Velvet, Coco, Nora…Weiss. Rescuing damsels in distress is all part and parcel of what being a hero is about, right?" he looked up to me almost pleadingly.

"Uh…is that what you think being a hero is about?" I reeled back awkwardly a bit.

He scoffed. "Of course not, you get to protect innocent people too, fight bad guys and monsters. Not to mention the fringe benefits."

"Like what?"

"Respect, admiration, acknowledgement? What more could you want?" I bit my lip in contemplation.

"Well, I don't exactly want anything really. All that's important is that if I give people the chance to live for a better tomorrow, that's all that matters to me."

"Yeah right." Jaune grumbled as he hung his head in his arm.

I drew my head back as I released a sigh. "I'm beginning to think that your definition of a hero is coming off _just_ a bit selfish, don't you think?"

"It's not like you do it for free." He stated.

"Being a hero is not just about saving people, it's about doing the right thing no matter what. Whether you like it or not; at its core, it's a selfless, thankless job that people take for granted. All they want is the recognition and fame that goes with it. If you focus too much on those things, you start to lose sight of what really matters."

"And that is?"

"Helping others when they really need it."

"That's exactly what I've been talking about!" Jaune insisted as he heaved a sigh.

I had to suppress the urge to smack my own forehead. "Look Jaune, just think about what I said, okay? I gotta go. By the way, are you sure you should be training right now? I mean, Ankh did tell us that we should at least get a day's rest after what he put us through."

"Don't worry, I can handle it. And who knows, maybe I'll even catch up with you and the others." He declared as he picked up his sword, while I just walked off with my head hung low and my hands in my pockets. That guy still has a lot to learn.

* * *

As I wandered aimlessly around the school to clear my head, I stumbled upon Blake who was sitting under a tree by the courtyard. As always, she was engrossed heavily in a book. My lips curled into a small smile as I approached her.

"Hey Blake," I called out.

She blinked before looking up, somewhat surprised by my arrival, but welcoming nonetheless. I sat next to her against the large tree, the cool shade and breeze adding to the relaxation. Man, no wonder Blake was reading here.

"So what brings you here?" Blake asked as she resumed.

"Just wanted to clear my head, it's been a long day of me goofing off." Blake chortled in amusement.

"Yes, it must have been quite the excursion."

We spent the next few moments just sitting together in silence, letting ourselves bask in the tranquil patio. I was close to dozing off myself, with Blake allowing me to lean on her shoulder. Slumber would have taken me over completely if it weren't for her slowly nudging me awake.

"It's time to get back inside, are you okay?" she asked.

"Fine, it's just been a really busy week." She grinned.

"Yeah it has. What with the Grimm, Greeed and Yummies running around. Just another day in the life of a Hunter."

"Hrm…" I grumbled as we rose up to our feet.

Blake's grin fell as she averted her eyes and pressed her lips together. "Say Enrique, remember when we talked about your aura this morning?"

"Yeah?" I perked up.

"Well…why don't we awaken it?" I widened my eyes.

"You can do that?"

"Of course, just stand right in front of me." She motioned for me to walk up to her. "You know, I don't think I really have that much aura." I queried.

"Nonsense, anyone with a soul is bound to have an aura - even animals." She laid her hand gently against my chest as she closed her eyes to concentrate. "Close your eyes and relax." I did as she instructed started not long after.

" _For it is in passing that we achieve immortality. Through this, we become a paragon of virtue and glory to rise above all, infinite in distance and unbound by death._ " I could feel a faint warmth building up inside me as she continued. " _I release your soul, and by my shoulder protect thee._ "

It was then that I opened my eyes, and to my utter amazement the both of us were glowing. A grey glow emanated from her body as I looked to my hands and down to the rest of me. I was glowing too, with the light being a deep purple.

I was abruptly startled out of it as I caught Blake from falling over. "Blake are you okay?" I asked frantically.

"I'm fine…I just. That usually doesn't happen." I panicked a little.

"Doesn't what happen? Did I mess it up?"

"No, no, it's just…it's nothing. Maybe I'm just tired too." I sighed in relief. "Okay, let's get back inside. And…thanks for awakening my aura Blake." She beamed up at me.

"You're welcome."

* * *

 _As the both of them walked back into the school, Blake raised the hand she used in the awakening ritual to scrutinize it. "His aura...it felt like it was…" it was quite an unusual experience since she had done it many times before for other Faunus, but it was only now that she felt such a sensation._

" _It was like something was…dragging my soul out."_

* * *

Ankh perked up when I entered through the door of our dorm, but he still sported his signature glower. "What the hell happened to you?"

I looked up from the desk as I was readying to study. "Um…Blake helped me awaken my aura."

"Tch, what'd she do, kiss you?" I leaned back against the backrest to rub my eyes.

"Seriously, I so am not in the mood for this."

He rolled his eyes as he kept tapping away at his scroll, I guess he's a lot more studious than me when it counts. "Whatever, you and your girlfriend can cuddle for all I care. And your aura? Doesn't even feel like much."

"Will you stop with that "girlfriend" crack already? Besides, what would you know about relationships anyway?"

"More than you care to know." He muttered. I was about to turn away to take out my books from my bag, only to stop to look back up. "What do you mean by my aura being not that much?"

"Aura sense, anyone who trains in it can easily detect the presence and strength of nearby opponents. All of us Greeed can do it, how do you think I'm able to pick up on whenever they show up?"

"Can you teach me? That sounds like it could be really useful."

He scoffed. "Teach yourself. I'm already busy with what time I have tomorrow." My shoulders fell a bit as I resumed taking out a few textbooks.

* * *

The next day, I was woken up by a knock at our door. Mother of pearl, is it time for class already? With a yawn and a few grumbles, I shuffled my way to see who it was. When I finally opened it, my groggy eyes were instantly bombarded with the sight of brown cardboard.

"What the?"

"Morning Enrique! They're here, the packages are here!" it was Ruby, and she was bouncing up and down excitedly in her pajamas as she held up a package in both hands. I rubbed my eyes to clear them as I shortly allowed both Team RWBY and JNPR to enter; each and every one of them carrying packages of their own.

"Ruby said that these packages are from the Kougami Foundation, is that true?" Weiss asked as she set hers down next to her on my bed.

"Yep," I confirmed drowsily, "those are the parts you'll be needing for your weapons to be able to fight the Greeed." At this, Weiss looked down to examine hers with an intricate eye.

"This is so awesome! And they all came with cakes too!" Ruby cried out in joy before speeding back and forth from both rooms to get three more boxes. Without a moment to spare, she opened each of them in a jiffy and found herself drooling at the sight of three deliciously baked cakes.

Each of them had icing that marked where they belonged, with one for RWBY and JNPR, and the last one being mine and Ankh's.

As both teams started opening their packages, I was left to check out my cake on my desk. It was covered all over with white icing, with mango slices all lined around the edges in a flower-like pattern. But after studying it more closely, it started to look more and more like the face of a sun.

A sun? No, is that supposed to be a mouth at the bottom angle? After twirling it around a few times, I realized that it looked almost like a lion. Could it be? There's something sticking out in the center. Oh come on, it can't be that easy?

"What's that?" someone grunted up from behind me. I jumped a bit in surprise from the swivel chair before pivoting around to look up at Ankh, who was glaring down more at the cake than me.

"Kougami sent it, probably as a thank you for all the Cell Medals we've been giving him." I wondered aloud after calming my nerves. He really needed to stop doing that.

"No, what's that?" he pointed to the center of the cake with his Greeed arm, before plunging it straight in.

"Hey, what gives!?"

All of the others looked up to see what the growing commotion was about, with Ruby silently whining at my now ruined cake (she and me both).

"Quiet!" he snapped, before slowly drawing his clenched fist out. It was covered with bits and glops of cake and icing respectively, aw man!

"What is it?" I asked despite my annoyance.

His lips slowly curled into a large grin as he unfurled his fingers. "Well, well, well, isn't _this_ a nice wakeup call?"

I almost fell out of my seat as I spotted what could only be the best thing that could ever happen for the red Greeed. – a Core Medal. And it wasn't just any Core, but the Lion. This could only mean one thing.

"Wow Enrique, is that another Core Medal?" Ruby pointed out curiously as she crouched next to Ankh to inspect the yellow trinket, with the others nearing closer to have a look as well. Ankh jerked his arm up to grasp it tightly in again, eliciting an irritated pout from the scythe wielder.

I stood up from my seat to divert her attention as Ankh made his way back to his bunk. "Yeah, it's one of Kazari's. That's the Lion Core Medal."

Blake perked up at that. "The Lion? Wait, didn't you two already have the Tiger and Cheetah Medals with you?"

I nodded. "That's right. As of today, I can now make another Full Combo."

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (x2)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

 _"Oh I get it!" The silver haired man said, a Dust laced cookie held up daintily near his mouth._

"Not again..." I muttered morosely. Why did I have to dream about that day? Why now?

"Let's show this lummox what we're made of Blake!" I declared boldly as we readied ourselves.

 **Next Time: Reminisce and Footwear**

* * *

 **A/N:** That is it for this chapter folks! I hope you guys enjoyed it as well as the Lion Core Medal being obtained as well as the Aura. Don't forget to check out my other stories and look forward to my Kamen Rider Ghost crossover on October 31st as well as a OOO Halloween special. I will see you all in the next chapter. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	7. Chapter 7: Reminisce and Footwear

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am back with the seventh chapter of the story! I am glad you are liking this story which I am grateful for. Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]). Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we?

Henshin!

Third Person View

'Thought'

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _A wiry silver-haired man was walking out of a bakeshop with an assortment of sweets in his arms. For some time now, he had been traveling around the city of Vale since the morn to bask in its wonders and curios, intrigued by the fresh sights and sounds._

 _Finding a bench to sit on, the man laid out his purchases next to him to choose which one to consume first. He had bought so many that he was rattling his brain and chewing his lip with uncertainty. After much rattling, the man settled for a bag of freshly baked cookies. He giggled childishly at the treat he was about to indulge in, but suddenly thought that something was missing._

 _Rifling through his pockets, he took out a few Dust crystals which he had pilfered earlier from a group of men that were really mean to him. All he ever wanted was to see if he could play with them, but they all kept yelling and pushing him away, or trying to shoot him with those weird toys. They didn't even hurt. Their constant deterrence irritated him, never before had he ever met people that were so mean to him, except the King. He shivered at the memory._

 _Angered, he went on to teach them a lesson by beating them up until that red stuff started to come out. He always wondered why humans had that inside them rather than cell medals, but then he remembered how his mommy taught him that humans weren't like them._

 _Weren't like the Greeed. Gamel could only shrug at that._

 _After he had put all of the other meanies to sleep, the last of them that was still awake begged for Gamel to stop. The bad man started to take things out of his pockets and coat – those flat card thingies that the humans used today as money, a really sharp and pointy thing, and some of that shiny stuff too. What do the humans call it again? Oh, that's right; Dust. They were all so colourful and shiny to look at._

 _Gamel liked Dust when he first laid eyes on some a few days earlier. He really did. So much so that his curiosity led him to wonder how it tasted. To the utter bewilderment of the man that kept pushing all of their stolen loot at the Beast Greeed's feet, Gamel picked up a pretty blue one and shoved it into his mouth. At first, he was a bit taken aback by how…crunchy it felt as he chewed, but after swallowing, a sudden burst of pressure erupted inside him._

 _Cool, thick air steamed from his mouth as the feeling subsided. At first surprised by this phenomena, Gamel became absolutely delighted. He liked it. That was so fun that Gamel wanted to try out more._

 _The man, who had long been gawking at the sight, just sat on his knees in a flabbergasted stupor, unable to comprehend what he had just bared witness to. Anyone with a brain knew that Dust was dangerous to consume without proper control, but this guy just popped one into his mouth like it was candy._

 _'Is he even human?' he thought._

 _He was disallowed from answering that question when Gamel turned to him and asked if he could have more of the crystals. Terrified, the man happily obliged and gave him all the Lien he had as well, just in case. In another turn for the weird, Gamel questioned the man on why he even gave him money._

 _Was this guy an alien or something?_

 _Coming to the conclusion that Gamel was probably just playing around with him, he told him that he could take all of his Lien so he could buy something for himself – beer, chicks, food. Gamel was confused by what the first two things were, but he instantly perked up at the word food and happily accepted both the bag of Dust and what had to have been a few hundred in Lien. With a spring in his step, Gamel happily bounded out of the small warehouse where the men had been hiding in, leaving a dazed and distressed gangster contemplating on what he was going to tell his boss._

 _A few hours later, he was now down to only a handful of Dust. He couldn't stop eating them, as they all reacted differently inside his stomach. Each one of the colors caused him to spew fire, electricity and even a huge gust of wind straight out of his mouth. To say that he was elated would be an understatement. Settling for a green one this time, he placed it carefully on top of a cookie, only for his ears to catch a strange noise._

 _Curious, he stood up from the bench with his cargo in tow to follow the sound. Around the corner of the street he was in, Gamel was immediately treated to a peculiar sight. A large congregation of people were gathered in front of a shop, noting silently that they were all faunus. He scratched his head in wonder as he sat down cross-legged at a nearby bench to observe the spectacle._

 _All of them were screaming, shouting and hollering at the top of their lungs, hefting up large wooden signs that read "WE'RE NOT ANIMALS!", with their only obstacle being a line of security guards barring their way._

 _Gamel scrunched his face in puzzlement; of course the faunus weren't animals, whatever gave them that idea? Relegating himself to resuming his meal, his attention was once again diverted by catching one of the protestors throwing a shoe at the guards. Why did that faunus woman do that? Are they playing some sort of game?_

" _Oh I get it!" The silver haired man wrongly grasped, a Dust laced cookie held up daintily near his mouth. The faunus woman shortly took out her remaining shoe and tossed it to the same guard, who deflected it with his arm. The discarded footwear then soared through the air and landed between Gamel's enclosed legs._

" _I get it, I get it! That looks like fun." he bounced and giggled in his seat._

 _Smiling, a silver slot immediately formed on his forehead before chucking a cell medal in. With a resounding clunk, his form shifted for a brief second as he was surrounded by a grey aura of cells, allowing a Yummy to crawl out of his back._

 _Unlike the rest of his fellow Greeed, Gamel's Yummies were fully formed when they came out, and this one in particular was a hulking, humanoid bison with two spikes jutting out of each of its shoulders, a long black belt connecting between the large piercing of its nose and the ring dangling by the front of its belt, just above its loincloth. The horns atop of its head on the other hand were sawed off at the end, with a third by its forehead._

 _The monster bellowed loudly, directing some of the protestors and guards to its direction. Cries of anger were quickly replaced by fear as they beheld the gruesome sight, too panicked to even care about the man sitting right next to it._

" _More!" Gamel pointed towards the crowd as he chewed on his treat. "Make more shoes fly!"_

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Reminisce and Footwear**

"It's quiet," Ankh muttered, his eyes narrowed to slits as he scanned the courtyard. His eyes darting ever so slowly back and forth, his aura sense blazing like crazy. Today, he was dressed in a long sleeve unbuttoned shirt, with the right torn off by the elbow and dyed a shade of red. A long sleeved black shirt hugged at his frame underneath, with the right dyed lavender. A long silver chain could be seen dangling loosely by the loop of his red trousers and ending by his pocket. Black pointed leather shoes protected his feet as he stood on guard under the tree we were taking cover in.

"Too quiet," Ankh continued, with me rolling my eyes as I took another swig of orange juice from a bottle I acquired earlier from one of the Ridevendors.

"You've been going on like that for the past hour and a half. Give it a rest already," I grumbled as I screwed back the cap.

"Why should I?" Ankh grunted, earning a sigh from me.

"There haven't been any incidents involving the Greeed for three straight weeks already. Weeks that we've been spending the better part of training." It was somewhat unusual that we hadn't heard so much as a peep from them lately, which did not bode well for my avian comrade. To be frank, his paranoia was getting kind of annoying.

"Tch, if only I could make a Yummy, then I wouldn't even be wasting away here." I glowered at him.

"I always thought you could, seeing as how Blake mentioned the other day that you almost made a host out of her."

He threw his head back to heave a sigh. "I was bluffing. I was teaching her a lesson about talking to strangers." I snorted.

"What are you, her father now?"

"It was a test to see if she could be trusted with keeping information. Information that could leave her vulnerable to being exploited by just about anyone who's willing to lend an ear for some sob story."

I quirked a brow. "What do you mean? Did Blake tell you something important?"

"Let me respond to that with a lesson for you; mind your own Goddamn business and give me 30 laps around the school. _Now_!" I groaned.

"Can't you just settle for 20?" I pleaded.

He pivoted his gaze to bore deep into me. "You want me to kick your ass all the way? Besides, if you want to be ready for the RaToraTa Combo, you need to exercise your cardiovascular and leg muscles. Now run off already."

"Fine," I conceded, seeing his point. If I ever wanted to be prepared just in case I get to use Kazari's Medals, I needed to develop my stamina. I was wistfully reminded of the Gatakiriba Combo and how it took such a huge toll on my body. That's definitely a feeling I didn't want a repeat of.

My current attire was a black jogging suit that Ankh bought yesterday for just this occasion, since he had been meaning to widen the aspects of my training even further to better hone my endurance. All those times he was smacking me and Jaune around in the arena, he was just toughening us up. Needless to say, the results were showing as we actually lasted alot longer than usual and managed to land a hit each through Ankh's defences yesterday. It was far better progress than the first few days where he would literally curb stomp the both of us.

After doing a brief warm-up, I was off, leaving the grumpy 'Professor' to his brooding.

 _10 minutes later..._

Well into my 5th lap, I was already working up a sweat and panting heavily; the foundation of Beacon wasn't exactly small. The temptation to stop was hanging atop my head invitingly, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to hear the end of a good thrashing from Ankh if he ever caught wind of me slacking off. Besides, I was getting better at the rate I was going, so what right did I have to complain?

When I was nearing into my 6th, I found myself passing through a more remote part of the school. Great, just 24 more to go and I'll be all-

Without warning, I felt a jolt of pain from my ribs as something hard knocked me off my feet. I bluntly fell to the ground on all fours. After all that running, that hit was more than what my lungs could take. I gasped several times for air as I struggled to turn myself over facing up, only to be met with the sight of four figures looking down as they cornered around me.

"What the-?"the following words died down my throat as the one at my right landed a hard stomp to my midsection. I buckled and convulsed from the throbbing. Even with aura that blow still hurt, and it probably would've been worse if Blake hadn't awakened mine.

"Stand him up." That voice; oh no.

I felt strong hands grab me by my shoulders as they lifted me up to my feet. Even in a daze, I could still make out the smug face of Cardin, with Dove right next to him sharing the same expression. Russell and Sky were flanking my sides, both of them locking me in place with vice grips.

"I've got a bone to pick with you. So, you think you're some kind of tough guy? Huh!?" he kneed me in the stomach as he trailed off, eliciting chuckles from the other three.

I coughed a few times as I endured the pain. "Tougher than you I bet." I rasped out. Wrong thing to say, but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction.

He seemed to ignore it. "You may be hot in that fancy armor of yours, but without it you're nothing. No, you're _lower_ than nothing." He followed with a punch straight in the eye; goddammit that hurt.

He continued. "You know, I've been thinking about what you said the other day, and it dawned on me. Since you're such an animal lover, why don't you get yourself a nice little faunus bitch and have a whole litter of little puppies," he cooed mockingly. "One big happy family, am I right fellas?" all of them laughed to their hearts content as they proceeded to lay a beating on me.

The next few minutes were like a blur, the pain numbing as my mind started to wander elsewhere.

* * *

By the time I awoke, Cardin and his cronies were gone. I let out a sigh of relief, clutching my aching ribs as best I could. This sucks. Those jerks really did a number on me. Again, even with aura I can barely hang in through the pain. Still, I couldn't help but feel a little nostalgic about all this.

Resigning myself to just lying down to rest while staring up at the clouds, I started concentrating my aura to help heal my injuries. Small flickers of purple were all that showed for my effort, with me sighing in annoyance at my lack of control.

Who was I kidding? I haven't improved one bit. If anything, all I ever amounted to was becoming a better punching bag.

After a few more minutes of entertaining myself with a small light show, I heard the pitter-patter of footsteps approaching.

"Pathetic." I carefully craned my neck to look up at a new figure towering over me, the sun obscuring his features. An instant was all I needed to realize that it was Ankh, who had his hands in his pockets as he mercilessly scrutinized me.

"The least you could have done was kick him," he stated, causing me to look away – so he saw the whole thing.

"Hey," he gently nudged at my shoulder with his foot, "get up." I didn't bother to indulge him.

"Why?" I muttered faintly. I could feel the red Greeed rolling his eyes. "Because you're more useful to me alive than dead."

I clicked my tongue in irritation as I forced myself up, feeling my muscles tearing for every movement I made. My teeth clenched together tightly as I writhed in agony to stand – at least I can give Team CRDL _some_ credit for not holding back.

* * *

 _Scores of civilians both human and faunus were desperately fleeing the scene where the once lively protest was held, cries for equality and fairness quickly transitioning to help and mercy as they were relentlessly pelted with shoes, trash cans, garbage, and all manner of debris that was within reach of the Bison Yummy._

 _The monster clapped its hooves together before slamming the ground, emitting another devastating shockwave that sent more objects flying all about the area, indiscriminately slamming against as many of the people as possible._

 _Gamel, who was still sitting on the bench and clapping in joy, watched the carnage unfold. "More! More!" He then shoved another cookie into his mouth._

 _His Yummy nodded, then delivered another shockwave, only this time, larger objects were added into the mix. Bicycles, cars, dumpsters and even a fire hydrant. No one was safe, including the nearby buildings as windows shattered and doors knocked off their hinges._

 _Gamel was having the time of his life. It had been a while since he had_ this _much fun. Not even his old playmates could last long before they either ran away or fell asleep - a really, really long sleep._

 _Inside his body, Cell Medals jingled as they multiplied. As opposed to the other Greeed, whatever desire Gamel was living out through a Yummy, the resulting medals would be directly fed into him._

 _The Yummy sauntered near to the remaining crowd, who were either frozen in fear or moving as far as their legs could carry them. Gamel hummed as he reached for another cookie, his hand rifling through the now empty bag._

 _"Huh? Where...? No more cookies?" he whined. He then checked his pockets; no more Dust too? He scratched his head, the beginnings of a tantrum setting in. He then shot his gaze to his Yummy, who was now pacing around aimlessly as there were no longer anyone left to throw more stuff at, having driven the last of them away with another shockwave._

 _Gamel shot straight up from his seat as he huffed in indignation. "Hey, let's go find more playmates." he motioned for the beast to follow him, which it obediently did_.

* * *

I limped my way back inside the school, my training regimen postponed until I was fully recovered. Ankh meanwhile was walking ahead of me, unusually silent for once. Tch, he's probably too disappointed to even bother. Huh, since when have I ever craved for _his_ approval?

Before we could reach the door however, he stopped dead in his tracks and whipped his head around, expression slowly twisting into hungry smirk.

"Finally," he met my gaze, "it's a Yummy! Let's get going, come on!" uncaring of my current condition, he dashed past me. I sighed inwardly as I reluctantly spun on my heel to trail along, hoping beyond all reason that this wouldn't be as bad as I was sure it was going to be.

"Where?" I asked.

"It's in the city near the square, and I even recognize who it belongs to, Gamel." I stopped mid stride. "Wait, Gamel's out there?" I gulped at the possibility of being on the receiving end of the Beast Greeed's violent tantrums. Compared to what CRDL did to me, the grey monster could snap me in two without even trying.

"Just slot in some Core Medals to help you get back on your feet," he pointed out, shoving the King Combo into my palm. I shrugged before slotting the medals in. That's when we suddenly heard the ringing of Ankh's scroll in his pocket.

"What is it?" I asked as he rifled for the tablet.

The red Greeed's brows knit into a scowl as he read through the message. "Something's not right."

I grimaced. "With Gamel and his Yummy on the loose, only now you're saying that something isn't right?" what was Ankh getting at?

He held the tablet up close to my face, my nose almost grazing the screen. "See this? It says here that someone's found a green coin with strange markings on it."

My eyes widened. "You think it's a Core Medal?" hang on...why did this seem so familiar?

"Could be, but considering the situation right now, it's more than a little suspicious." then it dawned on me; of course!

"It could be a trap," I commented, earning an inquisitive scowl from my companion.

"Now why would you say that?" shit, this was just like in that episode where Kazari set Eiji and Ankh up. I bit my lip. "W-Well, like you said it's a little suspicious. Besides, what if Kazari's the one behind this?"

Ankh kept digging his eyes into me, probably skeptical on how I could have come to that conclusion. He turned his head away to tap at his chin thoughtfully. "Yes...it could be. It certainly isn't unlike him."

"So, do we take the bait or what?" I was earnestly vying for the latter, as it was obvious that Kazari was going for the 'divide and conquer' route.

Ankh hummed in contemplation. "I may still need to check it out."

Oh man. "What if something goes wrong?"

"I can handle it. Now go after that idiot Gamel already." he ordered as he ran off, not even waiting for my consent. I bit back a curse; what will it take for that guy to listen to some sane advice for a change? I took a deep breath to help calm my nerves, with the Core Medals already well on their way of revitalizing me.

When I made it to Vale, I rode my Ridevendor through the streets to where the disturbance was occurring, a Taka Candroid leading the way. When I finally arrived at the scene, I cringed in dismay at the littered streets, the whole place deserted with only a few strays picking at what was left.

The sound of cawing alerted me back on the trail. "Anything?" I looked up to the mechanical bird as it nodded for me to follow it. With the rev of the engine, I sped past the scattered dross to hasten my hunt for the duo.

* * *

 _Ankh surveyed the docks with a critical eye, the wind blowing at his hair not hampering his vision in the slightest. Arriving with plenty of time via a Ridevendor, the red Greeed treaded carefully about the pier, steadily raising his aura sense to its limit._

 _He smirked as he found the spike of a very familiar aura. "Uva..."_

" _Took you long enough." Ankh couldn't help himself a chortle as he spun on his heel to meet the gaze of a tall man clad in green and black standing atop one of the crates._

" _It's been quite a while Uva. You're looking well." it was a shameless lie, as he could tell that the bug was missing a few of his Cores._

 _Uva could only smirk as he jumped off the cargo and landed in a crouch. As he rose up to his feet, Ankh tentatively laid a hand on one of his short swords tucked away behind him._

 _A calculative glance was all it took for Uva to read his former leader's movements. "Still settling for those knives? I would have taken you to be better than that after all these centuries" this earned him a scoff from the other man._

" _You never were very open to other options yourself, that's what I always criticized you about, remember?"_

 _"Still t_ _ **he smartass aren't we?**_ _" He growled amidst his transformation._

" _So tell me," Ankh wondered as he now held up one of his blades casually, "were you the one who sent that message? I bet Kazari put you up to it, didn't he?"_

 _He huffed. "_ _ **Don't think you're the only one who has evolved**_ _." he brandished his right claw menacingly to lunge forward for a dive, which was met with the swift drawing of Ankh's blade. "_ _ **Looks like your arrogance has dug your grave.**_ _" He lit up his arm with electricity, paralyzing his opponent with the discharge of power._

' _Damn, I didn't take Uva's power into account when I forged these things. Electricity and metal…' his thought was cut off by a powerful haymaker to his rib, being unable to block or weave with his other arm as the blades dug into him._

 _"_ _ **Without OOO...you're just a baby! It's pitiful for you really, our once great leader, to be reduced to a mere parasite on this wretched meat sack.**_ _" he drew his arm back for another stab, the blades dripping with Westborn's blood._

 _Ankh could only endure helplessly, with more blood trickling down from his mouth. "Damn…"_

* * *

My search through the city led me near a rapid transit, with the Taka Candroid perching itself up by the right handlebar.

"This is where Gamel is?" I asked, getting a caw in return. I heaved a sigh. "Okay, but I can't se-" the loud churning of metal and screaming put me on the alert. It was coming from around the corner.

The both of us mounted off the bike to sprint deeper into the subway, where we found Gamel sitting by the stairs leading up to the city as his Yummy was busy harassing a small crowd of would-be passengers that didn't escape in time. The small crowd milled about the dim tunnel, scrambling around as they made their way to the stairwell; with some of them tripping over one another.

"Hey!" I called out, causing the Yummy to whip its ugly head in my direction. I swallowed a lump in my throat; it was just like in the show, only this was definitely not a costume. Nope - the hair, skin, even the hooves looked like they were genuinely parts of the live creature. This only meant that he was far more mobile than someone that was impeded by a suit.

Gamel, who was in his true form, looked up from his revelry to eye me closely. I blanched at how much the Greeed's body had been eroded by his diminished Cores, with the same tattered bandages wrapped around his bulky torso and down to his arms, with only his head and legs being intact. His "face" was grey with a black visor serving as his eyes, while his mouth guard resembled an elephant's trunk flanked by two small tusks. Atop his forehead was a small Rhinoceros horn jutting out.

" **Ho? Who are you? Do you want to play with me too?** " Uh oh, this wasn't good. As if responding to his wishes, the Bison yummy pounded the ground with his hoof, sending one of the nearby trash bins lying around to fly right at me. I dodged to the side, falling face down on the floor.

" **Haha! Again, do it again!** " Gamel cheered. I bit back a curse as I scrambled to my feet to weave from another projectile, this time it was was one of the dislodged benches.

Crouched down, I looked up to find that the Taka Candroid was still hovering above me, having also steered clear of the monster's wrath. "Find Ankh, hurry!" it bobbed in the air for a moment to nod before zooming as fast as its wings could take it out of the chaos. Thankfully, the terrible two ignored it as their attention was now focused on me.

" **You're good, not many of those other playmates would move out of the way, so they got tired fast.** " I steadily rose up to my feet and lifted my shirt, having relinquished my jacket back at my bike's glove compartment. If Gamel was still in human form, I would have been sure that his eyes flew wide open as he spied a familiar belt hugging my waist.

" **You! You're OOO.** " he quickly shot up from his seat to saunter down and join his spawn. " **Kazari said that I might meet you.** "

"So it was a trap," I mused as I went through the motions. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

Armor clad, I willed the Tora Claws out before launching myself to lunge at them. It was a reckless move, but I was willing to put some of what I learned in training to use. Now was as good a time as any I suppose, with me ducking just in time as the Bison swung at me.

I slid to the left with the Batta Legs maintaining my balance, allowing me to deliver two direct swipes at my foe's ribs and thigh respectively. The beast cried in pain, with two large visible gashes on where my attacks connected. Odd, no Cell Medals spilled out.

No sooner had I finished my assault, a large foot dug into my clavicle. It was Gamel. " **Stop bullying my Yummy!** " he huffed as he swung his fist straight for my chest. I flinched from as the blow launched me back to a wall, causing it to crack and for me to fall in a heap. Sweet mother of Monty, even with only a few medals missing, the big lug's still stupidly strong. As I wriggled myself to stand, I brought a hand up to check at the places where the blows connected. There was no pain. I was still dazed somewhat, but in all retrospect, his attacks didn't even hurt all that much.

Is this what having aura felt like? If that was the case, then how come Cardin and his goons still managed to injure me? Then, something suddenly clicked – the armor! That had to be it. With the power of the Core Medals combined with my aura, the protection was essentially doubled. Alright, now this was more like it!

With a renewed sigh, I lowered my form into a stance. "Okay, time for Round 2!"

* * *

 _After their brief clash, Uva lifted Ankh up by the arm. "_ _ **Stand up**_ _!" he ordered. The red Greeed could only grit out a groan helplessly as the stab wound agonized him._

" _ **You're making this a lot harder on yourself than me, so just die already so I can get your Cores.**_ _" Ankh spluttered out a chortle. "Heh, then I guess you…wouldn't like to know…about what Kazari has then."_

 _"_ _ **Bastard**_ _!" Uva roared as he kneed Ankh in the gut._

 _"_ _ **Shut up**_ _!" with two more sweeps of his claws by the human host's misshapen forearm, the resulting gash gave way to a few medals. Without so much as a huff, Uva released Ankh from his grip in order to claim his spoils._

 _The emerald brute normally wouldn't have passed up a chance to absorb a fresh bounty of cells, but two green and yellow glimmers beckoned his interest more. Plucking them off the ground, he hefted them up close to verify; Kuwagata and Cheetah. Not bad, now for more._

 _As he witnessed this travesty, all the avian could do was curse at his useless body as he curled up from the pain. His rage boiled even hotter as Uva slowly loomed over him, bouncing the newly acquired trinkets in his hand to further rub it in. "_ _ **As if I'd ever fall for your mind games, now just give me more of my Cores already, and I might –**_ **just** **might** _ **– give you a quick and painless death.**_ _"_

" _The Kamakiri Medal…" Uva grimaced at the mention of his Core. "Kazari has it…I take it he's given it to you already?" Uva's silence was all the confirmation he needed when the insect grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Still, he couldn't suppress a smirk as it grew on his lips._

" _ **You could be lying, but then again, he's always been a shifty kind of guy. But don't worry, I'll go check – right after I cleave you into**_ **PIECES** _ **!**_ _"_

 _As Uva drew his arm back in what could only be the coup de_ _grâce, Ankh's mind was racing._

'It can't end here. I still have so much to do…

'What…what **am** I supposed to do? _' at a loss for an answer, the bird Greeed was only a hair's breadth away from resigning himself to his fate , if not for a black ribbon speedily wrapping itself around the insect Greeed's retreating arm, surprising not only him but his would-be victim as well._

 _Before the Greeed could even try to uncoil such an annoyance, he felt a swift slash run across his back, accompanied by the clinking of spilled medals._

" _ **W-What!? OOO! HERE!? HOW CAN THAT-!?**_ _" he jerked around to see who the interloper could be, and instead of the armor clad fool that he was expecting, it was a young girl in black readily holding up a sword._

" _ **Who the hell are you!?**_ _" he bellowed, still not letting go of his quarry. Ankh felt like a ton of bricks had just been dropped on him as he caught sight of the newcomer. "You…?"_

* * *

I didn't have time to brace myself from the Yummy as it slammed its fist against my midsection, with the resounding shockwave adding to the force as I was driven off my feet and up the flight of stairs. I ungracefully fell on the asphalt, leaving me gasping for air. I guess even with my aura and armor, a sufficient amount of force was all that was needed to break through. I could only wriggle back as the duo clambered menacingly up the steps.

" **That'll teach you to hurt my friends you meanie!"** Gamel clapped in joy at my crumpled state, as if he was a child that had just won in a game. As they marched closer to me, the sound of a gun going off twice rang through my ears, with two shots each landing dead center at them.

" **That hurt** ," Gamel dumbly noted, slowly looking down at his smoking chest, only to be pushed back a step by another shot.

I perked up at this new development, whirling my head up to see who my savior was. "Blake!?"

The raven haired kunoichi smiled down at me as she helped me up. "Blake what are you doing here?" it was then that my peripheral vision noticed someone else that was with her. "Ankh!? Ankh…what-"

Ankh was clutching firmly at his rib as he sat hunched on the backseat of a Ridevendor, the red of blood soaking his white shirt. "I'll explain later. Just nail those two already." With a reluctant nod, Blake and I stepped forward for battle.

"How did you get here?" I managed to ask.

"I was in the neighbourhood," she answered simply. I quirked a brow under my helmet. "I'll take that as code for 'following us and making sure we needed help'. Did I hit the nail on the head?"

She bit back a snort. "We'll talk later, heads up!" We split up to evade in time as the Bison Yummy launched a car straight for us, with Blake shooting at the giant twice in retaliation. I on the other hand, was left to handle Gamel.

" **No, no, no! That mean girl just butt in and hurt me! That's not fair!** " he bounded up and down, giving in to his tantrum.

Not willing to waste such an opening, I activated the Batta Legs to leap high into the air to deliver a dive kick to his head. It wasn't exactly a Scanning Charge, but I needed to soften him up if I was ever going to get a clear shot. Too absorbed in his outburst, he failed to react in time as my foot connected, driving him back a fair distance before landing on the bare asphalt.

" **OW! Nnnnnnwaaaaaaaaaah! You meanie! Both of you are meanies! I'm telling Mezool!** " he sobbed as he flailed about, rubbing his eyes..

"Now! Finish him off!" I heard Ankh yell out, with his tone cracking from his injuries.

"Right!" I wasted no time in taking the O Scanner out to swipe it over the buckle.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

* * *

 _The kunoichi easily bobbed and weaved around the Bison as it kept hurling different things at her. "You're not very smart, are you?" she taunted, earning a boom of rage from the savage animal._

 _She shot at it a few times again, penetrating through the creature's hide, then quickly reloading a new clip after counting those as the last rounds. While Gambol Shroud might not have been able to do such damage to a Yummy before, the modifications she added courtesy of the Kougami Foundation were showing more than satisfying results._

 _To do this, a small mechanism that similarly functioned to Enrique's Medajalibur was installed inside each of their weapons, with a slot positioned at just the right angle where they would be able to insert a Cell Medal and imbue them with Core Energy. The funny thing that they couldn't help but notice about the silver coins, was the manner of how they could now be used, sharing an uncanny resemblance to Dust._

 _It could be said that Cell Medals were just another form of Dust, with Weiss being the most adamant in this comparison. Blake recalled haphazardly catching the heiress pocketing a few of her cells, no doubt planning to send them back to her family; another one for her to be wary of, and it had to be Weiss of all people. Out of all of them, Ruby was the most enthusiastic as she practically yearned for Crescent Rose to be able to do what Medajalibur could._

 _In her own way that was typical only of Ruby, she went through her entire allowance of cells that the Foundation provided each of them in just one sitting and swung her scythe around a few times at empty space, expecting to make a cut at reality. When no such thing happened, she slumped in defeat and curled up in her bed to brood for a full_ hour _before gorging herself on cookies._

 _All they needed to activate the mechanism was one medal before it was ejected out of the slot. By then, it was just an ordinary silver coin that your run-of-the-mill collector would take an interest in._

 _Seeing as how her weapon hadn't yet spewed out the one she used to drive Uva away with, she lunged forward at her opponent with Gambol's blade mode. She struck true, making a clean cut on the Yummy's chest as it was readying another shockwave._

 _It lurched back in what Blake could barely interpret as a cry of pain, as its growls and gurgles made it unintelligible like an animal. The cat Faunus held such an irony putting down something that might as well be as mindless as the Grimm at bay. This beast wasn't a Faunus. For all she knew, this thing didn't even care who it hurt, so why should she be so lenient?_

 _At least the Faunus always had a choice...whether they were ever willing to take it or not._

 _She shook all of those thoughts away as she dove in for another hit, only for her opponent to bob itself away to clap its hooves together at full force, with Blake unable to evade in time._

* * *

Using the Batta Legs once again to take to the air, I shifted into position for a side kick. The rings of power from the King Combo quickly aligned themselves straight down, set to empower me with their energies to dish out some much needed retribution.

Hell yes!

Or I would have, if it weren't for something knocking me off course. Judging from the yelp of pain I heard as we made contact, it could only have been one other person.

"Blake?" I bit out as I quickly reached out to grab for her, hoping to cushion her fall. We both went down in a heap, with me at the bottom while she was on top.

Wait...

Dazed but otherwise alright, she let out a soft groan as she held her head gently. I on the other hand was starting to feel the aftereffects of my attack. That charge would have been perfect, but I guess luck isn't always where you want it to be.

"Blake...you alright?" a soft groan escaped her again as she moved to sit up, whilst a cell medal jetted out of the slot just above the hilt of her weapon. Not good.

"Enrique? What..." as she was busy trying to regain her senses, my mind was racing. My body was almost drained, and it would be a good while before the Cores could fully replenish me, but that might as well have been the very least of my worries as the thought of two very strong and likely very angry psychopathic manchilds were marching towards us to finish the job.

" **Now we're going to teach you a lesson for being mean to us,** " Gamel threatened, pounding a fist against his palm to emphasize. Okay, God of Remnant? If you're listening, I just have this to say; you're a lousy host.

This is bad, this is so very bad. I frantically but gently nudged at Blake to help sit her up, my heart pounding like crazy as I dreaded the world of pain in store for us. If I didn't do something quick, I'll have failed again.

Fortunately, it was then that I remembered the newly obtained Core Medal. Hinging my jaw, I pulled on Blake for us to roll away from Gamel's incoming foot, his stomp cratering the pavement. Up to our feet in a jiffy, I jerked my head to Ankh.

"Ankh, the Lion Medal, hurry!" I stretched out my hand firmly, counting on this one option to get us out of this mess. A few coughs instead of objections was all he could muster in his state, before flicking the needed item for me to catch.

I hurriedly went through the motions as Blake silently volunteered to give me cover, but without a medal empowering her weapon, all she could do was delay them with with hit-and-run tactics. Like our lives depended on it; and they did, I scanned the Lion in.

 **LION!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

A new helmet now sat atop my head where the Taka section once occupied, with gold adornments decorating the upper edges of my face to give off the impression of a lion's mane. The eyes, which were usually a tint of green, were now bright blue in color with a small yellow diamond lodged snugly between them. Three lines could be made out trailing up from each corner of the mouth guard, completing the look by resembling whiskers.

"Blake, get behind me and close your eyes, hurry!" the kunoichi peered over her shoulder looking ready to argue, only for her eyes to widen at the new part of my armor. "Just trust me!" with very little options other than to fight with everything we had; which would probably be our last leg anyway, she gave a firm nod at me before flipping out of the way.

"Here goes nothing." A lion's roar echoed through my ears as my helmet started to glow, before fully irradiating with what I could only guess was the intensity of a small sun. Ankh and Blake turned away as soon as they were able, holding up an arm to help block out the light.

The other two weren't so lucky. " **GAH MY EYES! TOO BRIGHT!** " Gamel could only clutch at his eyes helplessly with both hands, blinded by the potent rays, his Yummy also doing its best to shield its vision." **WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH MEZOOL!** " the Beast Greeed could only squirm in agony, futilely calling out for his mother figure to make the hurt go away.

Come on, come on, _work_. Leave already. With baited breath, we waited for them to flee from the light, but with what little energy I had left, I was scarcely hanging on from just keep this up. Seeing no signs of a retreat from either of them, I spoke back for Blake to rev up the Ridevendor. Not needing to be told twice, she leaped onto the seat, with Ankh leaning against her to help stabilize him.

"Come on!" she cried out emphatically as she roared the engine to life, with me being all too happy to power down and dispel my armor. Muscles burning from fatigue, I literally threw myself at the glove compartment and clung as firmly as I was still able. The Greeed and Yummy duo didn't even notice us as we sped clear out of the area.

* * *

 **(Back at the mansion)**

 _Once again in his human form, Uva marched his way up the porch of the mansion, running a hand briefly over his pocket to make sure that the Cheetah Core was still there. He smirked despite himself, having managed some level of satisfaction out of today's excursion and his scuffle with that faunus wench. Since when have their kind displayed such insolence? As far as memory served,_ he _was usually the one to deal a harsh lashing for any signs of dissidence from them, scornful of his leader's...softer approach._

 _It was a simple plan courtesy of Kazari, which Uva begrudgingly had to admit wasn't all that bad on paper. The first step was telling Gamel to do whatever the hell he wanted in the city. And whenever Gamel came out to play, trouble wasn't normally far behind. The second step, required that he send out a message of having found a green colored coin on the social boards using a scroll he pilfered from a guy at a bar he started to frequent._

 _He could hardly count himself to even remember the owner's name as he caved the guy's face in for pissing him off. Him? Pay? For a drink? Not even the old taverns ever charged him for so much as a pint of their finest cider, even though he could never really taste any of it. At least the girls were more hospitable compared to their employer, although he could easily tell that they only did it to calm him down from demolishing the whole building._

 _Kicking the door off its hinges (he could worry about fixing it later), he sauntered past the dilapidated hallways and peeled walls, barely able to contain the rising fury inside him as he found Kazari sitting by the window in human form._

 _The rogue, sensing one of his medals, whirled around to face his newly arrived comrade. "Hey Uva, how'd it go?"_

 _For a moment, Uva just stood there, silently reading anything that could have been amiss with the feline humanoid. He quirked his lips to look away. "It went relatively well all things considered. I actually got one of my cores back in case you're wondering."_

 _Kazari curled his lips into a smile that barely reached his eyes. "Good, and Ankh?"_

 _Uva brought a hand up to stifle a chuckle. "That's actually the funny part. While I was busy trying to carve him open, he...how should I say this. Um, he told me - now I'm just humoring you here so pay attention - he uh..._ _ **TOLD ME. THAT YOU HAVE. ONE OF MINE!**_ _" shifting into his true form mid-sentence, he charged straight for the other man who didn't even bother transforming, still too weak to even try._

 _Kazari could only cringe as he was hoisted up by the collar of his shirt. "Wha-What are you talk-"_

" _ **Don't lie!**_ _" he thundered, no longer able to control himself. Oh, how easy it would be for him to simply destroy the scheming bastard with their difference of power right at that instant._

" _ **Give it back. Now. I'm giving you 5 seconds to comply, or I'll fry you like the worm that you are!**_ _" Kazari grit his teeth, feeling Uva's claws slitting his cheek. Without most of his medals, he might as well have been weak as any human._

" _Will you two stop that? You're giving me a headache," Mezool called out from her seat in front of a dressing table she brought down from upstairs, with a makeup set she had stolen spread out in front of her. Her eyes were glued tentatively on a tube of pink rose lipstick, not even bothering with giving the two boys an audience for their squabble._

" _Kazari, trade Uva his medals for yours," she offered._

" _But I-"_

 _"Now. I won't ask you again," she ordered, the air around her slowly thickening._

 _Outnumbered and outwitted, Kazari yielded and drew out the Kamakiri with a flick of his wrist._

" _ **So yo**_ _u did have it!" Uva harrumphed as he morphed back, flicking his own to reveal the Cheetah. "I guess without this, you're just a scared little pussy cat." Kazari spared the green ruffian a scowl to counter the latter's sneer, tossing the green trinket over its owner's shoulder out of spite._

 _For that, Uva threw both man and medal to land callously on the floor. Uva's smirk grew into a fully smug smile as he whizzed around to pluck his long coveted Core from the floor. With a blow and a few runs through his sleeve, Uva flipped the trinket up to his chest for absorption._

 _Elated, his body swelled with power, feeling more of his old strength returning. "Ah, now this is more like it." he flexed his arms and fingers, like a great weight had just been lifted off his shoulders._

 _Kazari languidly reached for his own Core before consuming it as well, his mood not lightening in the slightest. The blow to his ego would have been more tolerable if Uva had gotten two back, but perhaps this was simply the latter's sick form of karma._

" _There, was that so hard Kazari?" Mezool asked as she puckered her rose colored lips._

 **(At the docks)**

Gamel, now back to human form, was sitting on one of the crates meant for shipping, still rubbing at his eyes; more from crying than blurry vision. "Nnnnnnnwaaaaaaah, OOO was so mean. All of them were mean to me. Mezool! Mezool where are you!?" he sputtered through his tears, voice cracking, having long forgotten where the mansion was, and with only his Yummy to keep him company. Bison (which it had come to refer to itself by that moniker) was doing his best to comfort its master. It hated to see him like this, because as much as he was its creator, Gamel was also its friend. It didn't know anything else other than what master wanted for it to do.

To throw stuff at people.

" **OOO...** " it growled, remembering how that meanie with the armor hurt its precious master. " **His fault...OOO. Destroy OOO...** "

* * *

"This should be enough…" I counted through the Lien I withdrew from my school account from a nearby ATM, aiming to pay for our expenses at the hotel we were staying at and the medical supplies for Ankh's injuries.

I was standing on a street from across the small and cheap building that Blake had found as she dragged us along to put as much distance away from the scene of battle. We were all too wasted to call in for a bullhead and wait for it to take us back. I looked up to the sky to muse at the coming twilight, minute specks of stars already shining at the distance. The moon; wow, I don't even know what to say about the moon. A shattered, misshapen crescent of a rock and a few flecks making out the faintest shadow of a puzzle.

It was unnerving to be honest.

I hung my head as I contemplated our next move. Gamel was on the loose, and if his Yummy was any indication, the chaos was still far from over. I took a moment to breath in deep, unease slipping through my drawn out exhale, pitilessly unsure if our situation was going to get any better.

With the wounds Nathan's body sustained, it was only a matter of time before he would expire. I shivered that possibility out, utterly shaken and terrified of allowing anyone to die on my watch. I literally had to strangle Ankh by the arm to prevent him from separating, with Blake backing me up, as it was only through their symbiosis that Nathan even stood a chance.

The return to the room we rented was riddled with melancholy, as I was forced to face the cruel realization that Nathan Westborn might as well be the real victim here. Caught between life and death, with probably family longing for his return, it was all just too much. Far, far too much.

Carefully creeping into the room, the sight that greeted me was of Blake attending to Ankh by the bed, rivulets of sweat trickling down from the mask of pain that was his face. His Greeed arm was also steadily decaying, small patches of the same bandages appearing all over.

"How's he doing?" I asked her, my voice barely above a whisper.

Her hand gently laid on his forehead to check for fever, she let out a throaty sigh before peering up to address me. "He needs immediate medical attention." I sighed.

"Here, let's clean his wounds and patch him up." I laid out the supplies I bought from a nearby drugstore next to her. She shook her head. "It's going to take more than that, stitches for one. You wouldn't happen to be handy with a needle, would you?"

I heaved a disappointed sigh as I sat on the floor to lean back by the frame of the bed. "No."

Great, this is just great.

"Enrique!" I perked up, pivoting my head around. "He's trying to tell us something." Blake beckoned, her tone urgent.

I scrambled up close on all fours to Ankh's head to listen closely. I leaned in, hearing his teeth audibly grinding from the struggle.

"C-" his voice was dangerously low and raspy.

"Take it easy Ankh," I steadied him gently, only for his arm to jerk up and grab me in a chokehold with surprising strength. Blake reacted in an instant, tugging at the Greeed's arm to release me as I wriggled for air.

"Ce-ell...cells..." he managed to blurt out, his grip gradually falling slack as he surrendered to exhaustion. I fell on my rear, bringing a hand up to grasp at my neck as I coughed for air, with Blake rubbing my back.

"Cell medals, he needs cell medals!" I bit out, eager for any chance that could save both Ankh and Nathan.

Blake's face fell. "But we don't have enough Enrique. I only have 3 left from the 5 I had with me this morning."

Damn it. Wait, that's it! It was a long shot, but if this didn't work, then I might as well forget all of the promises I've made, and that was not an option I was willing to cross.

I turned to Blake. "Give me your scroll, I left mine back at the dorm."

"Why?" she asked as she was handing me her tablet.

"I'm gonna call in a loan from the Kougami Foundation. Hopefully, they'll track us down here and send someone in." Midway through my explanation, I was already accessing the Foundation's emergency line that the company provided.

"Um...Enrique, I think I should tell you something," Blake stated.

"What?" I responded, eyes still glued to the screen.

I felt her pause, almost as if she was reluctant about something. After the receptionist prompted me to wait a moment, that's when I gave her my full attention. Blake lightly cleared her throat. "When we were training the other day after tweaking our weapons. I...caught Weiss pocketing some of her own medals. I think she's-"

"-planning to send them to her family. Oh great," I grumbled. This is just terrific, another headache. I seriously need to have a talk with that heiress once this is all over.

* * *

After an hour, I was rubbing the palms of my hands to a slow burn as we waited, with Ankh's weak groans and murmurs not helping matters. The faintest sparks of hope welled up inside me as we heard the rumbling of a motorcycle's engine from outside, which ignited to full blown relief when I allowed a familiar black and helmeted figure to enter the room.

A black briefcase was securely cuffed to his wrist, which was a telltale sign that it contained the loan I asked from Kougami himself. He was surprisingly amiable with me , with him even allowing to name the amount. I originally settled for a meager hundred, but it was his insistence and Ankh's desperate pleas that had it be risen to a cool 300. Once the deal was settled, he dallied not a moment longer and ordered the "Biker Guy" (I'm gonna call him that from now on, at least not out loud) to head for our location through our parked Ridevendor's GPS; no questions asked.

The man regarded the both of us for a moment before darting past me to the patient with almost startling haste.

"How long has he been like this?" he inquired, and although muffled, I could still sense a bit of unease under the rigidity. Wait, what?

Intimidated, I almost stammered out my words. "Um, a few hours now. Look, I'm sorry we didn't call you guys sooner but-"

"Then maybe you should have when you had the chance!" he barked, eliciting a blink of surprise from the both of us. Kneeling by the side of the bed nearest to Ankh's Greeed arm, he opened the briefcase after uncuffing it from his wrist. As agreed, a total of 300 Cell Medals were laid bare before us, aligned and gleaming under what little light the lamp provided.

"Hey, you awake?" he sternly asked the hurting Greeed, with the latter only managing a faint wheeze as a subtle "yes".

"Here." Biker Guy carefully hefted the briefcase under the Greeed arm after gently lifting it up to make room. A fleeting ambience of anticipation hung in the air, with Ankh heavily winded, working to absorb all of the cells splayed out for him. It was an amazing sight really, almost ravenous in his consumption from starvation - it might as well have been literally.

Once all of the medals were gone, we waited. The minutes felt like hours as I silently prayed for something, anything to happen. My prayers were answered as a faint red glow illuminated Westborn's entire body, the clinking of coins reverberating throughout the tiny room. I wasn't quite certain what was happening, but if I had to guess, it was the Greeed's way of healing injuries by burning through his reserves. Like Kazari pointed out to me and Ren a few weeks ago, they thrived on cells to fuel their power. This was simply Ankh's way of repairing the damage done to his host using his own aura.

When the light finally died down and the process completed, Ankh released a tired but otherwise relieved sigh. With a careful hand, Biker Guy checked the red splotch on Nathan's chest, and found to _our_ relief that the wounds had closed up. His arm was also back to normal before seeping into his skin. For the first time since this morning, my entire body slumped on the floor to relax, leaning my head against the wall adjacent to the door.

Blake on the other hand was already by Ankh's bedside next to Biker Guy, who was busily packing up to leave. "He's stable. All he needs is some rest," the ebony kunoichi spoke up. I smiled at that news. Peering up, Biker Guy was just about ready to leave.

"Um...thank you, for saving him." Biker Guy halted midway through the door to glance back at me. "Just tell that bird brained idiot to be careful next time, and we won't have to meet like this again," he snarled. I arched a brow as he disappeared from sight with the slam of the door. That was...odd.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts for what might as well have been the umpteenth time, far too tired to even worry anymore now that Ankh was okay. Gamel and his Yummy were still out there however, probably causing more trouble, but going against them now in our condition was completely out of the question - not to mention stupid. I may be a depressed wreck on the inside, but I'm not _that_ suicidal - now more than ever since meeting my friends.

Besides, Blake would probably rip me open a new one for just _thinking_ of doing something that reckless.

About an hour and a half later filled with nothing but watching the news on Blake's scroll and eating a pizza we had delivered, my eyes were starting to glaze over while she was reading from a small booklet she kept in her pocket.

"You need some sleep too you know," I commented.

"In a little while," she replied, turning over another page over.

"That sure was a close call, huh?" I rambled awkwardly.

"I should say so. What was with those Yummies anyway?" I ran a hand through my face, a bit exasperated on giving an explanation about the absolute _mess_ that was Gamel.

"One of them wasn't a Yummy, the guy with the bandages was Gamel." Blake immediately looked up from her book once I mentioned the name.

" _That_ was Gamel? But he...he was..." she stammered, probably unsure on how to describe what was essentially a child in a grown...man's (?) body.

I snorted. "That's Gamel for you. Big guy on the outside, little kid on the inside." by the dim of the room, I could still see Blake wince at that implication.

"Why doesn't that sound so assuring for some reason?"

"Because when it comes to having the mentality and fascination of a child, along with that level of destructive power, I think it's just a _little_ unnerving to even wonder what could happen with _him_ on the loose." Whoa, when I actually put it that way, Gamel's a lot more frightening than I originally thought.

Hang on...oh snap!

"Um, Blake. Okay, don't try to freak out when I tell you this, can I count on you for that?" she narrowed her eyes in suspicion for a second before nodding for me to continue.

"Okay, don't tell Ankh that I told you this, alright? You can tell the others - okay more like _warn_ the others so pay attention." I cleared my throat and gulped. "If the time ever comes that Gamel has all 9 of his Cores, he'll have the ability to turn anything, and I mean _anything_ into Cell Medals." I held my breath to what her reaction would be, with her expression softening into a neutral stare as she seemed to process this revelation.

"You're kidding. Right?" I clicked my tongue and firmly shook my head. "No I'm not!" I barked with far more force than I wanted, eliciting a groan from the slumbering Ankh.

"At full power, aside from being able to cause earthquakes and control gravity, he can turn anything he touches to Cell Medals if he so wills it. _That's_ how dangerous he, or any of the Greeed can be." I bit my the inside of my cheek, expecting another rebuttal, instead, she simply hung her head in thought.

She looked up again to ask me urgently, "Can the other Greeed also do that?"

"No, only Gamel," I confirmed.

That didn't seem to improve her mood at all. "This is...okay, Enrique? I just want to know one thing." She paused. "Do we have a chance?"

I shifted my eyes. I didn't want to, because I wanted to be reassuring. "Of course we have a chance. Just so long as we find the other Core Medals and prevent any of them from getting a foothold, we'll be okay," I gulped again. "I hope."

"That's not good enough!" I winced from her tone, only for her to turn away as her eyes gave way to regret. "I'm sorry, I didn't..."

I waved nonchalantly. "No, you're right. I'm sorry too. But if I hadn't said any of this to you sooner, it'll probably come bite us in the ass in the long run."

"Well, at least now we know, right?" she noted, and I couldn't help a grin coming on from that sliver of optimism. "All that's important right now Blake, is that we get some rest and stop Gamel tomorrow. Is that alright with you?" she blinked, before closing her book and placing it under the lampshade.

She sighed as she did a short stretch. "I guess reading can wait. Are you gonna take the bed?" I shook my head. "Not on your life. You take it." I nudged my chin towards the the one next to where Ankh was recuperating in.

"Come on, you two are the ones here who need it the most. I don't mind, really," she kept insisting.

I hung my head, not wanting to argue. "Look, I can sleep well on the floor because it's carpeted. Or on the off chance that it _hasn't_ been cleaned or vacuumed; which I am willing to bet is an entirely moot point anyway, I can just sleep sitting up, no problem."

"That's actually bad for your back," Blake pointed out.

* * *

 **(A few minutes of arguing later)**

This is just swell. Me and Blake ended up sharing the bed anyway. At least it's big enough, but that wasn't what I was worried about. I mean, I didn't want to give Blake any wrong impressions - I barely know her for crying out loud.

Okay, calm down Enrique. You're just sharing a bed with a friend, nothing more. "How you doing over there Blake?"

"Fine," she replied. Crap, she's taking this the wrong way, I just know it.

Then again, she's pretty levelheaded. I mean, she can't possibly misinterpret this as anything other than two friends sharing a bed, right? I mean, most people would have come to the wrong conclusions by now. And I _really_ need to stop starting with 'I mean'. Sigh. Okay, just forget it, if I worry about this too much and start showing it, it's still gonna send out the wrong vibes. Time to play it cool, smooth and stop with all of the innuendos already too.

"Say, Enrique?" Blake spoke up softly.

"Yeah?"

"What were your days like before...well...all of this?" Oh man, of all the things.

"Normal I guess." Which was true. I didn't want to outright lie, but maybe a few half-truths will do; for now at least.

"Define normal," there was a hint of mirth in her tone. A small smile graced my lips. "As normal as any teenager living out his days; home, school...family."

"Where were you before Beacon? Signal? Haven?" Sigh, I'm a terrible person.

"Neither. I was...just a normal everyday kid doing my best to make my way in life. I didn't exactly attend a combat school, mind you...that is...until Ankh found me." I explained somberly.

"...I see."

"But I did have a part-time job."

"You used to work?" her tone slightly perked up.

"At a bookstore." She giggled, "I guess you weren't kidding about being into writing, huh?"

I countered her's with my own. "Not really sure if I still want to though."

"Hey, you promised remember?" I chuckled.

"Yeah. Say, Blake? Where are you from?" I actually expected for her to respond. When none came, that was when I looked over my shoulder as we were facing away from each other.

"Blake?" She kept silent, for how long even I didn't know. I lost track of time and hardly cared about it when Gamel was busy knocking me around. Was she already asleep?

Her much awaited answer came in a low, raspy murmur. "Somewhere in Vytal." Red light. Overstepping boundaries here. Gotta change the subject.

"Where are your parents?" Oh. My. God. I SUCK!

"They're living together," she answered more easily this time, turning over to face me. I could only smile at her for that, which she returned.

"Goodnight Blake."

"Goodnight," she breathed, drifting off to slumber.

* * *

 _"...I know but it looks like a storm is approaching." my mother explained, the clouds darkening and rumbling overhead. "Let's go."_

 _"I don't want to go yet!" I talked back. "I want to stay here longer!" My sister was already at the car, having gone on ahead while I stubbornly refused to move away from my father's tombstone._

 _"Enrique, it's only going to get worse." Without even waiting for me to respond, she firmly gripped my hand and started dragging me back to the car. I was upset, more upset than I had ever been. Why did we have to leave dad so soon?_

 _"Mom can't we go back, I wanted to stay," I persisted._

 _She sighed deeply by the wheel, her eyes to focused ahead on the road. "Like I said, the storm is only going to get worse. Now will you please let me drive in peace!?" she trailed off forcefully, maybe a bit more than she intended._

 _I huffed, not wanting any of it. "I wanted to stay!"_

 _Right next to me, I hardly cared that my sister was squirming in her seat, frightened as she watched the spectacle of me and mom arguing. I don't think she's ever seen us go at it before, not even when dad was alive._

 _"Please stop...mommy...bro, don't fight," she pleaded._

 _I jerked my head to her, ready to tear my heart and lay it all out, but the urge evaporated when I saw how shaken she truly was. "Didn't you want to stay with dad more?"_

" _Mommy's right, it's going to get cold," her tone was ashen, almost terror-stricken._

" _We should have just stayed. So what if we get soaked in the rain? It's just rain," I reasoned._

 _The moment my mother turned away from the road; the windscreen drizzled with heavy rain, was when we both failed to catch the subtle, but fast approaching light. Marie however…_

" _Look out!" the next thing I knew was being thrown around my seat, body slamming against the door. The rest was nothing but darkness; numb, unforgiving, and cold._

 _Cold? Why am I feeling cold? Wait, what happened? I stirred from what I could barely presume was sleep, only for my ears to be harangued by heavy rainfall. Why is it raining? My eyes, heavy and glazed, were opened to mere slits. I tried moving my head to futilely regain my bearings, but much to my ever increasing bewilderment I couldn't. What gives? What the heck is going on?_

 _Slowly, but surely, I started to get some feeling back. First my arms, then most of my torso. Pain. So much pain. What IS going on? Where am I? I let out a dull groan, unsure on whether someone was nearby or not. I wanted to move. My legs, why can't I feel my legs? Help, I needed help. Someone, anyone?_

 _...mom?_

 _On impulse, I immediately thought of my mother. Where was she? Hang on...I remember...Marie? Oh god, Marie! I hinged my jaw tightly; darn it. The muscles in my mouth twinged all the way down to my neck and clavicle. I don't even know what happened. The growing throbs and aches only worsened as my body started to recover from the numbness. My chest was heavy and breathing thin, I moaned from the agony. Tears started spilling from my eyes._

" _M-" come on, I have to say something. I swallowed a gulp of air, only to get a few light coughs for my troublefor my trouble. I snarled, my teeth baring, frustration piling up. Having had enough, I forced my eyes open. I blinked a few times to clear out the blur. On that day, what I laid eyes on would be forever etched in the darkest recesses my memory.._

" _M-Mom...?" she was on top of me, being suspended by a metal beam, blood running down her mouth._

 _The next sounds to plague my ears were nothing but screams._

 _Screams of anguish._

* * *

I awoke with a start, my eyes wide open and welling with trickles of moisture. It definitely wasn't the first time for me, but it sure didn't get any easier.

Sometimes I think this is just my brain's way of telling me how much of a jerk I was back then. "Not again..." I muttered morosely. Why did I have to dream about that day? Why now?

I wiped my eyes dry before swiveling my head to see a still sleeping Blake, lightly purring...wait, purring? I blinked, my drowsiness probably disorienting my senses. I then craned my neck to check up on Ankh, with him snoring more loudly. Damn, and me without a tape recorder. I gently laid myself back down, with my head feeling the warmth of the pillow.

It happens only once per night after all - usually.

* * *

When morning finally came, Blake and Ankh were already awake, apparently waiting for me to join them. The now fully recovered bird Greeed was currently gorging himself on some Vacuan takeout, having gone through several packets already judging from a pile by the foot of his bed.

Blake managed to salvage one for me, with her having already eaten. Stir-fried noodles; I guess some worlds just can't beat the classics, ooh! And it's chicken.

After having our fill, we were ready to head out and find Gamel and his Yummy; which reminds me.

Putting away our trash, I sat back down on the bed while Blake was busy fine tuning her weapon. "So Ankh, considering that you almost died yesterday, I take it your little trip didn't go well?"

The red Greeed, arrogant as always, scoffed. "Uva just got lucky that's all." So it _was_ Uva, just like in the episode. On the other hand, everything that happened yesterday didn't exactly follow through with everything in the show to the letter. Why? The plan Kazari set up was practically identical to what was done in the series proper, so why-?

And that's when it hit me. Of _course_ things wouldn't exactly go like they did on the show, I am such an idiot. This isn't TV, so why should I try to predict everything that'll happen when there's always going to be a variable that'll divert away from the canon story? Okay, gotta work a way around that for now. Just tread lightly and play my cards right.

I fell back on the bed groaning in exasperation, my shirt lifting to reveal the King Combo still slotted in the buckle. It was fortunate that Ankh actually allowed the Core Medals to stay with me overnight, and needless to say the results were more alleviating than I expected. I felt great, better even. "I take it I can't give you some heartfelt speech about not being reckless anymore after that fiasco?"

He harrumphed. "Tch, as if I'd even have the attention span to listen to such drivel." I grinned.

"Then...that only means you're not that smart, are you?" I felt him shooting daggers at me, and sure enough he shot up from his bed to tower over my limp form. "I could tear you open right now!"

"Go ahead...and then we'll see how good you'll do without any help." He growled before jerking away.

"By the way, what are we gonna do about the loan from Kougami?" I sat up cross legged, expecting Ankh to blow his top again from the mere mention of having to owe Kougami even more..

"As if I care about that right now. The only important priority is to find and destroy both Gamel and his Yummy. _Unfortunately_ , unlike a regular Yummy, that big galoot is the one that gains medals directly into his system rather than the other way around."

Blake craned her neck over her shoulder. "Yeah, you already explained that to us, remember? Except the part about him being the only one to get medals. So what's our game plan?"

"Our game plan?" I chortled. "Staying alive would the first step. The second would be to find a way to get in a clear shot at that Bison Yummy without it blowing us away with another one of its shockwaves."

Blake nodded. "I already called in Ruby and the others, they should be here any mo-"

She was cut off by the boom of the door barging open, revealing an excitably worried Ruby with her foot extended out in a kick, along with a fiercely determined Yang right behind her.

Oh, and Weiss was there too.

Alright, the gang's all here. Now that RWBY and JNPR _can_ hurt the Greeed now, the situation might not be as bad as I imagined it would be. How and why I even thought I could do this all on my own when I can't even so much as take on Kazari without an advantage was nothing short of arrogance - and Uva was just pure dumb luck.

These guys? They're Huntresses. This is practically their _life_. Me? I'm just a guy playing at being a hero. Blake was right, maybe I _am_ the one who needs protecting. Still, that doesn't necessarily mean I _can't_ get any better. Sure, I may not be that good now, but who cares? I sure don't, which is why I can't mope around anymore. Only through hard work and training will I be able to _really_ get results. I _need_ to get stronger.

I _need_ more pow **er**.

* * *

After packing up, we all headed for the city on our bikes. The first problem was getting me and Ankh our own rides since we left ours behind during each of our respective battles yesterday, which Weiss didn't fail to remind us about once she heard the full story. Then came the fact that we could no longer access the Gatakiriba Combo since Ankh lost both the Kuwagata and one of the Cheetah Medals. That got us even more of an earful.

I really wanted to tell Ankh off that he shouldn't be so reckless anymore, but seeing as how Weiss wasn't faring any better in getting through to him, what chance would _I_ have in giving him a piece of my mind?

Yang was on her own personal machine, Bumblebee; with Ruby in tow, while me, Ankh, Blake, and Weiss were on each of our respective Ridevendors. Our tour around the city led us through a completely abandoned disaster zone, with most of the people long evacuated. Who knew Gamel could cause this much havoc?. Through our viewing of the news earlier, a small contingent of the Atlesian Military previously tried to contain the absolute rampage that was the Beast Greeed and his spawn, but due to not having been provided with the same upgrades to their weapons as ours, they didn't stand a chance.

Missiles, gunfire, grenades - all easily redirected back to the soldiers, doing more damage than what could already be tolerated. Buildings were demolished , vehicles scattered and wrecked, miles of debris paving the charred and cratered roads, it was a miracle that we managed to trudge through it all. Gamel definitely wasn't a slouch either, as the massive boost in power he accumulated via his Yummy, a shadow of his old power returned. The sight was more horrific than what any of us could have fathomed as we viewed it all through the scroll earlier via a live broadcast; crashed airships, ground forces rendered immobile until they were crushed to pulps, earthquakes that ruined a few of the nearby roads and foundations.

It was like some messed up version of the Medic+Heavy ÜberCharge strategy from TF2, only with the constant amount of cells his Yummy generated for him through the ensuing conflict. In hindsight, it was brilliant as it was dangerous, and Gamel probably wasn't even consciously aware that he essentially hit the jackpot. Strategy was needed for this mission if we were going to take it, and boy howdy did we need it.

The Taka Candroid which I had previously sent to find Ankh, had long abandoned its mission and was roosting contently by the rooftop of the hotel the entire time. So, I gave it the new order of tracking down Gamel for us, as we were currently doing our best in keeping up as it soared through the air.

"Heads up!" I heard Ruby call out, forcing us to react and zip out of the way of an oncoming truck. I skidded to a halt by the sidewalk, almost careening off course and crashing by a wall. The truck bounced as it hit the pavement, spinning in the air before crashing again in a roll. I couldn't help but sigh in relief before removing my helmet to better scan the area, cringing at the destruction wrought.

I craned my neck to check on the others. "Is everyone alright?"

Ruby stood up from her seat and shot a hand up. "Yep, we're okay!"

Weiss grumpily shook away some helmet hair as she dismounted. "Ugh, I can't believe we're doing this again! And I thought the Grimm were pests."

"Stop complaining and focus. The more we wait, the more powerful Gamel grows," Ankh reprimanded, ignoring the heiress' scowl of indignation darted at him. I shook my head at the two. Peering on ahead, the ever mounting swathe of obstacles disabled our bikes from crossing any further. It didn't matter, because if that tank was any hint, we needn't even had to search long.

"You guys ready?" Ruby checked as she brandished Crescent Rose. Silent nods from all of us (except Ankh) was her answer. Okay, deep breath, no more kidding around this time. My mind made up, I moved through the usual motions.

"Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

Armored once more, I brandished Medajalibur and swept a hand over the blade.

Wow, okay! Note to self, don't ever do that without gloves or protection because I swear I felt my middle finger brush against the sharp edge.

Resolve affirmed, our party hurriedly trekked through the dense remains of the city, with Blake by my side wielding her Gambol Shroud. Ankh wasn't far behind, although whether it was because he was still weak or simply didn't want to take anymore risks was irrelevant.

The Taka Candroid cawed proudly as it was nearing our destination, but as we scurried closer into the city's square, we all heard and felt the rumbling of the asphalt beneath our feet. We stopped in our tracks and took cover in some of the larger wreckages, while the mechanical avian shifted back into sleep mode only to be caught by Yang.

On impulse, me and Blake ducked behind an ice cream truck. I cautiously inched closer to the edge to peek on ahead. Narrowed to slits and magnified by the Taka Lenses, my eyes spied two large figures in the distance. Gamel was stomping and thrashing about in a small circle, while the Bison Yummy was silently resting down in a crouch. They were cornered by dregs upon dregs of what was left of the contingency, with the casualties strewed messily about the area.

This was probably one of the times where I wasn't that thankful about having enhanced vision, as smears and splashes of blood could be made out through the green tint. The soldiers weren't any better, as their bodies were literally crushed to gory pulps, the red of their blood dyeing their once pristine white body armor. I jerked away from the gruesome sight, gasping in some air.

"How is it?" Blake asked as she huddled near me. "Not good..." I bit out. "With the armor's enhanced sight I was able to scope them out. It's worse than expected. They slaughtered a lot of soldiers and civilians." I gulped in a huge lump.

Blake cringed as her features gave way to shock. "You got all of that Ruby?" she spoke to her leader through her earpiece. I could feel the distress coming from the scythe wielder's tone as she voiced her affirmative. I struggled to ignore the pangs of guilt welling up within me, cursing my negligence and allowing for this to happen. A firm hand on my shoulder snapped me out of it, with Blake's assertive nod helping me to assure me - at least for now.

Just as planned, Ruby signaled for Weiss and Yang to sneak in nearer. I then craned my neck to Ankh, who was hiding behind a mailbox, his thin frame helping in providing him with cover. Minding his own part, he passed the Lion Medal to me for later use.

Now this is where it gets tricky. With a pull of the tab, Yang activated the Candroid again. Peeking around the corner of an overturned delivery truck, she wordlessly pointed the bird towards Gamel which it took as orders to hover over the dimwitted Greeed. Complying, the fowl launched itself off from the blonde brawlers open palm and made a beeline for its target.

" **Hm...where is home? I can't find home anymore...waaaaah Mezool! Where are you? So many people were mean to me!** " the grey behemoth cried.

" _Aw, the poor thing,_ " Ruby cooed with misty eyes, her balled fists steepled under her chin. The rest of us sweatdropped.

" _Focus!_ " hissed Weiss over her commlink, eliciting a wince from her partner. " _Sorry!_ "

We all waited patiently as Gamel rubbed at his eye, before a sharp cawing drew his attention upward. " **Hm? Ho! Wow, hehehe pretty bird. Come here bird! Come play with me!** " Gamel bounced up eagerly, with his Yummy shortly joining him to share in the spectacle.

" _What is_ with _these two?_ " Weiss commented, perturbed by their bizarre childishness. " _Shh, it's working,_ " Blake quieted her.

" **Don't fly away birdie, come here! I want to play.** " the candroid ignored the coaxing, resolving to continue its flight; more for its own safety than any ingrained programming. Gamel impatiently stomped in irritation. " **I** _ **said**_ **come over here and** _ **play**_ **with me!** " he raised a hand up in the air, activating his control over gravity to draw the small mechanimal in. All of us excluding Ankh gaped as an invisible wave of pressure emanated from the Greeed's palm, with his victim fighting valiantly to stay in aloft. After a brief struggle however, the candroid's body could no longer endure the constraints and unceremoniously shattered in two, with bits of its parts raining down to scatter.

" **Huh? He broke...not again...** " the Greeed whined.

I inwardly saluted that brave soul, a trooper to the end. Don't worry little guy, you _will_ be avenged. A single tear trickled down my cheek under my helmet, even as Weiss was busily setting up a series of ice glyphs beneath the Yummy's feet, while Yang cocked both of Ember Celica and aimed them directly at Gamel.

" _Now!_ " Ruby signaled. Yang blew a kiss at her target before blasting two cell and dust powered shells at full force, with Gamel being too late to react as they made explosive contact by his shoulder and stomach.

Gamel yelped in pain, pain that he hadn't felt from the tirade of artillery earlier as he was fiercely knocked back by the blow and slammed onto his Yummy, who also didn't notice in time. They both slid on the frozen pavement, falling on top of each other in a heap.

"Attack!" Ruby shouted as she made a beeline for our incapacitated foes. Her scythe fully extended, she took to the air in a jump to slice them down in one go. With a decisive swing of Crescent Rose, the attack connected. Huh, I guess that's it. That was surprisingly easy. Maybe we wouldn't have to fight after all.

Which is what I _would_ have thought if it weren't for Ruby getting blown off her feet, and into my willing arms. "What the hell?" That should have worked, how did Gamel react that fast?

"He's become too dense," Ankh explained as he ran up to us.

"What?" me and Ruby asked. The red Greeed clicked his tongue. "When Gamel gains enough cell medals, his density increases, making him much more durable than what our usual invulnerability to conventional weapons can afford. Your upgrades might as well be next to useless."

"So we're back to square one!?" Weiss snapped.

Easing himself off his Yummy, Gamel sat up to look down at the foreign object protruding out of his chest.

" **Owie...** " he moaned dumbly, pulling the blade out as if it were an inconvenience. He rose to his feet and began idly fiddling with it.

"Hey! That's mine, give it back!" Ruby pouted, with me guarding her side. "Maybe Medajalibur can cut him down to size!" I quickly moved to slot in the three cells into my sword for the finisher, only for Ruby to push me out of the way as Gamel blasted us with a gravity wave.

H-How'd he do that? He wasn't even looking. Weiss was right, what the hell is _with_ this guy!

My question was answered by Ankh crouching down behind us from dodging as well. "He's using aura sense. Never really did it that often before, but he can control it just as well as the rest of the Greeed. Case in point, he doesn't need to see you to target you."

"And you're telling us that _**now**_!?" me and Ruby voiced out in unison.

" **OOO…** " Huh? I looked to Gamel's rear where the Bison Yummy was slamming its hooves together menacingly. " **It's your fault...make master cry!** " the Bison Yummy thundered as it stood back up, and it sounded like it had a massive bone to pick with me. Story of my life, I guess.

"Looks like this is gonna have to be a team effort!" Yang stated as she helped the both of us up, with Weiss and Blake following shortly.

"Stick to the plan!" Ankh pointed out. "Rose, Xiao Long, Schnee, you're with me in taking Gamel. Enrique and Belladonna, you go for the Yummy!"

"Right!" we exclaimed in unison.

"Let's show this lummox what we're made of Blake!" I declared boldly as we readied ourselves. We lunged forward, splitting midway to flank it for an advantage. On to what were were doing, the Yummy punched the ground to spread out a shockwave, forcing us to distance ourselves. Unfortunately, that was only part of the what the Yummy was attempting as we shortly took notice of the scattered debris rising into a storm.

Blake motioned for me to help her put more distance from the other party, dodging and/or slashing through the barrage of rubble and dross, with our tenacious target trailing behind. Once within reach, Blake baited it with a clone as it tried to crush her in a bear hug, flipping over its head and digging her foot in the back of its neck. She and her double then coupled this with two mid-air spin kicks by each of their sides. Howls of pain were driven out of the Yummy as they rapidly alternated their blows.

Enraged, the beast caught the clone in a bear hug to crush her, causing the latter to disperse in an explosion of ice and freezing the giant's arms in place. The real Blake, who had joined me to provide cover as I did my part, placed two well aimed head shots to further disorient it. "Now Enrique!"

"You got it!" after feeding the three cells into Medajalibur's slot, I was only too happy to hear the familiar chime after scanning them in.

 **TRIPLE SCANNING CHARGE!**

"My gift to you, HAH!" I swung at a vertical angle in order to keep from hitting Blake, bisecting reality along with the bestial Yummy. Without even time for a last breath, the latter exploded into oblivion, but no cell medals rewarded us for our efforts. Even so, just the fact that we managed to bring that menace down was more than satisfying.

"Come on, we have to get back to the others!" Blake ordered, with me nodding silently to follow her.

* * *

 **(A few minutes earlier)**

"This is insane!" Weiss cried out as she tried gliding through the air to land a hit on Gamel, with the latter nullifying her efforts by disrupting the gravitational stability of her glyphs.

" **This is fun! More, play with me more!** " Gamel cheered.

The heiress grimaced at his unwitting innuendo. "Never in your life creep!"

Ruby, with Crescent Rose safely back with her (after tricking Gamel into playing a quick game of catch - "Note to self, never again use your head to catch the blade."), assisted in the skirmish with hit-and-run tactics via her semblance, but the Beast Greeed's "skin" was just too tough for her to even dig into. Yang was at least faring far better than the both of them, having managed to spill some cells through some of her explosive jabs with Ember Celica.

"We have to diminish his reserves, it's the only way we can do any lasting damage!" Ankh instructed as he coordinated their movements. "Yang, throw him off balance!"

"Roger!" the blonde brawler dug her fist into the already wrecked road, generating one of her own shockwaves directed at Gamel. But much to her annoyance, the latter only had to stomp the vibrations away with his foot.

"I thought this guy was too stupid to even fight back!"

"That's just it, he IS stupid. But this is all only a game to him." Ankh explained as he sliced a huge chunk of road that Gamel threw at them, forcing Ruby to double in her efforts of diverting his focus to her.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked as she retreated next to him to load an blue Dust into Myrtenaster.

"Gamel was never trained conventionally in combat. His instructors had to treat all his lessons as a game due to his childish mindset! Don't let that put you at ease though, that imbecilic clod is just as skilled as the rest of us, but like I said, this is nothing more than play to him."

"That. is. it!" Weiss thundered as she held Myrtenaster at the ready. "It's high time I put this monster in his place then!" she launched herself off the ground with another glyph, aiming to skewer the boorish Greeed through and freeze his torso to disable him.

Gamel didn't even bother to dodge as he allowed the sword to hit its mark, with the blade penetrating just deep enough through his bandaged midsection. " **Ow...that hurt!** " it really did, but he was already past the point of caring, absolutely ecstatic to finally have playmates that didn't tire out or fall asleep. Ruby retreated next to Yang to catch her breath.

More incensed than she had ever felt, Weiss drew her sword several more times in rapid succession, dishing out a flurry of slashes and cuts that would have made any fencing teacher gush with pride. Shards of ice grew for every few shot she could get through, encasing the Greeed's arms.

" **Owowowow, stop! Too fast, it hurts too much!** " Gamel pleaded as he wormed about uselessly to block the incoming barrage.

"That's the idea you neanderthal!" Weiss huffed. "Now just hold still like a good boy!"

" **Good...boy?** "

"Oh no..." Ankh recoiled.

" **NnnnnnNRRRRRRRR MEZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!** " Gamel bellowed, his aura flaring to its limit and casting away his glacial binds. Weiss flinched as she felt the massive pressure of power, unable to block or move away as shards of ice tore through her skin and clothes. She ground her teeth as she struggled to maintain her ground. The atmosphere soon became heavy, with Ruby and Yang starting to feel themselves being pushed down.

" _ **I WANT TO GO HOME! WHERE ARE YOU MEZOOL!?**_ " Gamel roared again, his form shrinking back to human.

"W-What's h-h-happening…?" Ruby gritted, her muscles screaming as she tried to fight back the pull.

"W-What does i-it look like? H-He's ha-having a tantrum!" Ankh could barely hold on himself, with Yang still proving her strength as she lumbered through with small, arduous steps.

" _Weiss!_ " she shrieked the heiress' name in both anger and worry, arms held up front to help her see through the storm as everything around them was being crumpled, with the gravity growing heavier and heavier.

And throughout it all, Weiss was steadfastly fighting to stay alive. But alas, it was a losing battle as her body simply could not match her ever persistent will. She too fell on her knees, with tears and blood flowing from her face, her insides feeling like they could cave in at any moment.

Her magnificent sword Myrtenaster now lay bent, misshapen and broken in front of her, with its owner not all that far from ending in such a state herself. "H-Help...s-s-s-some...one..." her words died in her throat as she lost consciousness, her body finally surrendering to darkness.

 **(With Enrique and Blake)**

"No...NO!" Dear god, please no! Blake and I had arrived from our fight too late as a large dome of gravity now enveloped where Ankh and the others were doing their best in repelling Gamel. To make matters worse, we could see all of it clearly. Weiss was the first to fall, with the others still valiantly holding on.

"We have to do something!" I cried, ready to jump in and rescue them. "We can't risk getting sucked in too!" Blake countered, minding the outside debris that was slowly approaching the dome.

"But-!" she grabbed my hand with both of hers. "Listen to reason! We need a plan-"

"The longer we wait, the worse it'll be and they'll all die!"

" _Don't you think I know that!?_ " I flinched from her outburst. This was a nightmare. Damned if we do, damned if we don't!

"My, my, isn't this a heartbreaking scene. A lover's spat perhaps?" I gasped inwardly at the voice. We whipped our heads to the source and I was once again treated to the sight of the beautiful girl that wanted to meet me all those weeks ago. In human form and sitting atop an Atlesian armored truck, was Mezool; her head propped up by both hands steepled. She watched us with glazed and bored eyes. "What has my little Gamel done this time?"

"Who are you?" Blake probed, more distressed than surprised by this newcomer when their friends needed their help more.

"Mezool, what are you doing here?" Blake darted her eyes at me in growing panic at my mention of the Fish Greeed's name, no doubt skeptical that this girl, this _young girl_ that couldn't even have been older than any of them was one of the monsters that was currently killing the people she cared about.

"I'm here to pick up Gamel," she answered nonchalantly. I didn't dare to leave my guard down, but for every passing minute we wasted…

"Is that it? Is that the whole reason you're here?" I asked speedily.

"Yes."

She jumped down from the vehicle and walked past us, our weapons on hand in case she tried anything. I sure as hell didn't believe for a second that she was only here to pick Gamel up like she was his mom or something. No, I didn't know what she was really here for, but I was not about to let the situation get more out of hand than it already did.

She rolled her eyes, seemingly indifferent as she traipsed past us and through the torrential sea of wreckage. This was so unreal. Blake and I could actually feel the pull of the gravity right where we were standing, and she was just walking through it like nothing.

A few agonizing minutes later, the dome dissipated, revealing the now prone forms of our friends and teammates. We scampered as quickly as we could to them, hoping beyond all doubt that they were still alive.

Blake attended to Weiss while I was left with the others. My concerns were appeased somewhat when I found that they were only unconscious; beaten, but unconscious. I then trotted up to Blake, who was frantically checking Weiss's pulse.

"Sh-She's alive, but she needs a doctor asap!" I swallowed a lump in my throat as Blake hurriedly keyed in her scroll for EMTs. That only meant that I was the only one left that could still arguably fight. You really don't like me up there, do you?

"There, there Gamel. I'm here now, don't worry. Did they hurt you?" Mezool cooed soothingly as she held the now wiry man's face tenderly between her hands, her de facto son unable to hold back the joyful tears.

" _Nnnnn, Mezool, s-so many meanies. So many were mean to me. I just wanted to play with themuhuhuhuuuuu_..." Gamle spluttered and sobbed, happy that his mommy was now with him.

"Well, let's get you home now dear. Come on, you're a good boy, right?" this instantly perked up the manchild, shying away from her touch in glee.

"Mhmhmhmhm, Mezool. Gamel happy with Mezool."

You know, if this wasn't so messed up considering the context, this would have warmed my heart, but the ensuing scene that played out only served to terrify me more.

"Let's go dear, and we can talk all about it at the hideout." she gently took Gamel's hand, with their difference in size and appearance giving out the impression of an older brother and his sister heading home. The image wasn't even remotely close to the disturbing truth.

I froze on the spot, my hand under the glove throbbing from crushing Medajalibur in my grip. This is...I don't even know what this is. "H-Hey!"

"Hm?" Mezool looked over her shoulder. "What do you want?"

Should I...no, I can't provoke them. I just can't. I shivered back a step, unable to look away. "A-Aren't you…?"

Mezool could only roll her eyes again. "Oh please, it's clear as day that you're all beaten. It wouldn't be that much fun so why bother?"

She then grinned from ear to ear. "Besides, the way I see it, we're all after the same thing. Are we not?"

"Th-The same thing?" I breathed.

"Of course, the Core Medals. The way I see it, our group has a better chance of finding more of our lost medals with Ankh's obnoxious stubbornness and your unwitting complicity. If you have one, then we'll just take it."

"You sure about that!?" I spat back, with the first drop of anger that I hadn't felt in a while.

"We'll just see then, won't we? Let's go Gamel."

"Yes, Mezool! Lalalalalala…" with a spring in his step, Gamel skipped happily as he was led by the hand, the demented mother and son's retreating forms being the final insult that destroyed whatever vestiges of morale I had left.

I was barely even aware when the armor was dispelled, unsure whether it was me or Blake who tilted it back to standby.

* * *

The trip back to Beacon was...well I couldn't really call it - what's the word again? Oh, right…'victorious'. That only happens when you actually _succeed_ at beating up the bad guys and saving the day. The next thing I remembered was me and Blake sitting together in the bullhead, with the rest of our teammates in stretchers. The ebony kunoichi had long fallen asleep and was resting her head on my shoulder, but for the entire trip my mind was pondering on other matters.

" _What should I have done…?_ "

Or better yet.

" _Why didn't I do better…?_ "

I dimmed everything else out again after seeing the damage to my friends, idly recalling most of what went down back at the city. I was all too willing to just put all of it behind me, but...you don't exactly forget mistakes of that magnitude easily.

My next conscious thought was when I was staring from across my bed in the infirmary the slumbering form of the once proud and haughty heiress, hooked on tubes and life support. My injuries were minor compared to her, mostly due to the King Medals, so I was only there to rest and stew in my own musings. Ruby, Yang, and Blake were also there to get themselves checked. I offhandedly caught wind from one of the nurses that the doctors attending to Weiss were under her family's payroll. I counted her fortunate for that. If it had been anyone else less...affluent, I guess the reality would have been much different.

* * *

 **(Headmaster Ozpin's office)**

" _Well?" Ozpin asked from his desk, with Glynda; as always, by his side._

 _A ragged and visibly exhausted Ankh sat hunched in a chair from across them, his arms sagging and eyes glazed down at the floor. The intermission of silence only gave way to the crank of the gears._

 _With a clearing of his throat, Ozpin continued. "Ankh, I do not think I need to grill you on how everything went during that entire...fiasco back in Vale, so I'll be frank to spare us all the details. A few concerned parties are already calling in and inquiring to determine the full scale of the threat that the Greeed pose. Mind you, with the ever growing warning signs from the White Fang, things have only escalated. I was...not able to placate them as best I could so a representative has been sent here by the Atlesian Council to...provide us with assistance in addressing the matter."_

 _The bird Greeed neither twitched nor budged save for a single blink. "Aside from that, we will be having a discussion regarding your performance as a member of our faculty, as well as your brief stint as Team RWBY's advisor on the field." Ozpin paused. "Is that alright with you?"_

" _Stop pandering to him Ozpin," a strong voice spoke up near the door. The headmaster needed only to shift his eyes to regard an all too familiar acquaintance in white marching up to them. "Ah, yes. Ankh, this is General James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy as well one of their Kingdom's military leaders."_

 _Ankh slackly tilted his head in a side glance to scrutinize the tall and intimidating figure, whose keen eyes had long been boring into the Greeed from the moment he entered the room._

 _Ironwood hinged his jaw to clear his throat, his expression tightening after sizing up the vagabond that Ozpin had the misjudgment to take in more closely. "I am General James Ironwood. I'll skip the formalities for now because time is short. To be quite blunt 'Ankh', we need to talk."_

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (X1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"More bombings!?" I exclaimed in shock upon hearing the news.

"Let's do it to it, Enrique!." Ruby proudly declared.

 **RATA RATA…RATORA~TAH!**

 **Next Time: Sharks and Bombs!? The Scorching Combo Arrives!**

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as well as the battles. Don't forget to check out my other stories including **Kamen Rider Dark Drive: Hyperdimension Road (Kamen Rider Drive x Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory).** I will see you all in the next chapter! Stay in the shadows everyone!


	8. Chapter 8: Sharks and Bombs?

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the eighth chapter of OOO! Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]). Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we? Also tomorrow, Chapter 4 of Kamen Rider Dark Drive: Hyperdimension Road (Kamen Rider Drive x Hyperdimension Neptunia V) will be uploaded.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

" _Stop pandering to him Ozpin," a strong voice spoke up near the door. The headmaster need only to shift his eyes to regard an all too familiar acquaintance in white marching up to them._

" _Ah, yes. Ankh, this is General James Ironwood, Headmaster of Atlas Academy as well one of their Kingdom's military leaders."_

 _Ankh slackly tilted his head in a side glance to scrutinize the tall and intimidating figure, whose keen eyes had long been boring into the Greeed from the moment he entered the room._

 _Ironwood hinged his jaw to clear his throat, his expression tightening after sizing up the vagabond that Ozpin had the misjudgment to take in. "I am General James Ironwood. I'll skip the formalities for now because time is short. To be quite blunt 'Ankh', we need to talk."_

 _"Why should I talk to you?" He questioned Ironwood. "Your 'military's' weapons won't affect the Greeed that hide, waiting for their chances to strike."_

 _Ozpin then pressed a button on his desk in which a screen lowered behind him and Glynda before the video plays Team RWBY and Enrique fighting Gamel and the Bison Yummy._

 _"But you see that your plan nearly risked the lives of five students." Ozpin pointed out._

 _"Above all else, handing a student an item that was thought and supposed to be long forgotten." Ironwood added. "You do realize that you possibly caused another repeat of what the Multi-King did 800 years ago?" Ironwood was one of the other few other than Glynda and Ozpin who are aware of the ancient story of OOO._

 _"He couldn't even kill a Beowulf with ease." Ankh scoffed, remembering how Enrique was against the Beowulf during the initiation. "Like he would ever do what that greedy bastard did all those years ago."_

 _"Yet you are one of those Greeed; much like the ones I have been hearing about for some time now." Ironwood argued. He has been secretly watching behind the scenes as well, having been sent footage of Ankh's previous exposition to RWBY and JNPR since he is obligated to know. "I don't trust you at all even if you are possessing a person. You are considered a dangerous element in need of heavy surveillance."_

 _Ankh then stood up from his seat and got into Ironwood's face, creating more tension. "Like your soldiers can do that? Your soldiers died from two beings I am sure they can't do the same to the other Greeed knowing of our capabilities."_

 _This made Ironwood glower at him. "And the only people that can solve the situation of the Greeed is me and Enrique. You humans can't hurt them; only me and him. Your choice of what your fate will be if you did send your soldiers into a suicide mission and even to put me under surveillance."_

 _Ankh turns his head to Ozpin. "If that is all then I will be leaving." He said before he glowered at Ironwood and left, slamming the door hard, close to breaking it._

 _"And Ozpin, I know you are also aware of the story of OOO. Why continue to let a student use its power than confiscate it and destroyed?" Ironwood questioned him._

 _Ozpin took a sip from his mug before getting up from his seat and stare at the shattered moon from the window. "He's much different than the Multi-King, James." He answered but not informing him of Enrique's home origin. "If you met him and took a good look, you can see what he has been through and he shows promise as well." He turns to look at Ironwood. "He might be the only one that can stop this destruction from happening again. If we were to destroy the belt, what will our fates be when the Greeed bring total destruction to Remnant?"_

 _Ironwood looked at him for a moment before he sighed in defeat. "You may have a point, Ozpin." He said. "I will try to tell the Council of this but if this gets much worse like it has already, I have no choice but to arrest 'Ankh'. And about your student who can become OOO..."_

 _"What about him?"_

 _"I can't find any public records on him, Ozpin." Ironwood said. "It puts his legitimacy here at Beacon into question."_

 _This made Ozpin quiet._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 8: Sharks and Bombs!? The Scorching Combo Arrives!**

It has been a couple of days since the incident and Team RWBY was fully recovered from their injuries except Weiss who needs rest even though she was discharged from the infirmary; At least she is recovering though. But I was upset.

Okay, I was actually _pissed_. I was pissed off for what Ankh did since he nearly made us risk our lives just to beat Gamel and his Yummy. I remembered Ren's words coming back in my head.

Is Ren right? Can Ankh really be trusted?

As I continue my thoughts, I heard the door open in which I look to see who it was and saw Ankh entering the room. He still looked angry from whatever happened 3 days ago after seeing Ozpin.

"What gives them the right to judge me for my actions?" Ankh questioned himself.

I didn't say anything only to hear yet another one of his complaints. "All I did was right to attempt to take down Gamel and his Yummy." He continued. "So what if those three girls tried their best to beat him?"

My eye twitched from what he said.

"If they were trained harder than none of this would happen but they are only weak enough to handle the Grimm not the Yummys or the Greeed."

Ok, that's it! He crossed the line!"

"Shut up..." I muttered.

Ankh turned his head to look at me. "What?"

I got up from my bed to look at him. "Just shut up!" I shouted. "Why do you have to be like this Ankh!? All you do is not giving a damn about others; only for your stupid Core Medals and the Cell Medals!"

"You bet-"

"No! You listen!" I glowered,interrupting him from speaking. "Ren was right; the honest truth about you… you really _are_ a distrustful person! You nearly cost my life and my friends! You don't give a damn about anything!" I continued. "And those innocent lives and soldiers that Gamel and his Yummy, God knows how many, they've claimed? What about them!? They possibly had families as well!"

I didn't care if my loud voice could be heard across the dorm, I wanted to set things straight with Ankh since he was being a total bastard since the start of my arrival in Remnant.

"Your friends? Tch, they are utterly useless against the Yummy and the Greeed." He scoffed and mocked making me more pissed. "Who cares?"

Now he really crossed the line. I grabbed him by the collar as his back was against the wall. "I care about the safety of my friends! You treat me like your damn puppet!" I shouted. "My life is already screwed up as it is after what happened to my family! I had nothing and I never wanted all this to happen since day one!"

He only gave me his usual expression. "I never wanted this at all! You are nothing but a selfish and heartless bastard, Ankh! Don't you get it?! I rather be back at my home world than be here and be treated like this!" My eyes welled up in moisture as his eyes now began to show signs of anger. "You are only an arrogant, distrustful, and selfish monster!"

He soon punched me in the face. He clenched his Greeed arm for a moment as if he has the urge to kill me. "You are lucky that I am not killing you." He growled. "Why should I care about your past? So what if you been through pain and misery?"

My eyes widen as if he has hurt me inside. I now wanted to beat him for saying that. He doesn't care about anything. "Cry me a river, Enrique. Just remember who helped you live from that Yummy on day one, who made you become OOO, who has been collecting Core Medals to assist your battles, and is giving you a chance to fight."

I only stormed out of the room and slammed the door shut. Now outside of the dorm room, I clenched my fist tighter before I punched the wall hard, leaving a small crack due to my Aura. "Why... Why me...?" I muttered.

I slid down from the wall until I fell in my rear as I stare at the ground before reaching in my pockets to look at the O-Driver and the four Core Medals that I held onto since the battle from couple of days ago: Lion, Tora, Taka, and Batta.

"What happened…?" a familiar voice asked..

I looked up and saw Ruby who looked concerned. "Why are you-"

"You and Ankh were arguing and I… overheard it when I was heading back to the dorm." she twiddled her fingers, showing she listened to the whole conversation and even my words to Ankh.

"I'm sorry you had to hear that Ruby…" I apologized. "It's just that Ankh is selfish and stubborn for who he is and no matter how hard I try to help him, nothing changes…"

I looked at the Taka, Tora, and Batta Core Medals. "I never wanted this to happen… Gamel and that Yummy claimed too many lives and they nearly killed you, Yang, Blake… and Weiss. It brings me pain to see you guys hurt and I don't want that to happen again." I muttered.

"But if you didn't arrive here, you wouldn't have met us and the Greeed would have took over already." Ruby countered.

I winced upon her words. She was right, if I didn't arrive in this world, Remnant would have already been under the control of the Greeed and I wouldn't have made friends. "Come on, I think a breath of fresh air would help you out." She suggested.

I looked up and saw her smile as she reached her hand out to me. "Alright..." I answered with a small smile curled on my lips. I got hold of her hand as she helps me up and the two of us walked out of the school, heading to Vale.

* * *

 _In Vale, a man wearing an Atlesian lab uniform was in a warehouse, looking at his items for his... experiments. He was once a scientist from the Atlesian Military who had been rejected for his research in creating bombs that were too costly and "weren't that effective" in their words. Now he wanted to use this 'experiments' to spite Ironwood than anyone else._

 _As he continues to work on his experiments, his Scroll went off in which he look to see who it was from. When he did, he saw it was a message from his 'unknown backer' informing him to set the charges in some vehicles._

 _He replied that he will set them but also for his experiments. Just as he was about to leave, he heard a giggle, making him look around. "Who's there?"_

 _"My, my, you are certainly filled with desire." A female voice said. The figure walked out of the shadows only to reveal Mezool in her human form._

 _"Who are you?"_

 _She smiled before going into her Greeed form and presented a Cell Medal in her hand. "_ _ **Someone you won't remember seeing,"**_ _She answered before inserting the Cell Medal into his forehead._

 _The scientist got his senses back, trying to remember what had just happened. He shook his head, probably guessing that his constant work was making him see things so he left the warehouse to continue his experiments but his eyes emanated a blue glow._

 _Once out of sight, Mezool shifted her form back to normal and trotted up to his desk. She tentatively scanned bundles upon bundles of papers riddled with a plethora of information: numbers, addresses, schematics, etc. Seeing value in them, she stacked and folded them altogether into an open briefcase by the table. "This takes me back."_

 _The said scientist was in Vale as he was under one car planting a device that had a timer as well as a capsule that had water and a Dust crystal. Once planted, the pressed the switch but what he doesn't realize that in his warehouse, a beach ball-sized orb appeared on the wall, glowing as it was preparing for Yummys to be born._

* * *

Ruby and I were walking in the streets of Vale, exploring the city more. I guess she was right about getting fresh air. I needed it after my argument with Ankh.

"Hey Enrique." Ruby said, getting me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, Ruby?"

"What's your home world like?" She asked, curious.

"Well, my homeworld is called Earth," I answered.

She furrowed her brows. "Sounds like dirt."

I chuckled, "That's the actual name, there are seven continents with each one having their own countries and sets of languages. No kingdoms."

"What else?" Her eyes sparkled, wonderment crossed all over her features.

"There aren't any Faunus, just normal humans. Oh, and there aren't any Grimm either, just normal animals," I added.

"NO GRIMM?!" Ruby exclaimed out loud, prompting me to shush her down frantically.

She cupped her mouth with both hands and nodded, eliciting an exasperated sigh from me. "But...there IS still racism. Just...not with people having animal features," I faintly shook my head.

"What then?" Ruby asked.

"...skin color," as soon as the words left my mouth, Ruby burst out laughing.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! _SKIN COLOR?!_ Are you kidding me?" she almost doubled over from her mirth, but my growing scowl soon put a stop to that.

"Sorry!" she pressed her lips tightly.

"It's not just skin color. There's...dissonance of cultures, values, language barriers, and social attitudes too." I blinked. "I guess...there really isn't that much to tell apart, is there?" I paused to wet my lips.

"Unfortunately, there's also terrorism. But I can bet a solid that the White Fang doesn't even come close to what the ones in my world do, or for what reasons...unless I could be wrong." I shifted uncomfortably, subtly being reminded of news detailing all their atrocities.

"Uh, like what...exactly?" I furrowed my brows at her shaken tone, seeing the discomfort emanating from her.

"Look, just forget it. I don't really want to talk about stuff like that right now." I ran a hand over my head to ease my growing tension. "Why don't I just treat you to a drink?"

A smile curled on her lips, making me smile back until I tripped on the pavement. "Ow..." I groaned.

"Are you okay?!" Ruby asked.

"I'm alright." I said before turning my head a bit but I noticed a blinking light under the car. Why would a car have that under it? I looked closely until my eyes widen in realization to what it was. "Ruby, move!" I shouted before I moved her away from the car as it exploded along with two other cars in the area. However and strangely, the explosion spilled water as well, making mine and Ruby's clothes soaked a bit.

We heard scream and some panic around the area as Ruby and I got up. "Are you okay, Ruby?"

"Y-yeah..." She muttered. "Just what was that?"

I looked back at the destroyed vehicles. "I think someone rigged them with bombs."

"At least no one else got hurt..." She said relieved. I nodded in agreement. It looks familiar since at my home world there had been incidents like this in other countries but for some other reason, this feels vaguely familiar. ' _Why does this look so familiar?'_

I mean, explosives that spill water as well? Wait a minute... explosives that spill water as well, you gotta be kidding me. This bomber's work is similar to the bomber from the series!

That meant a Yummy could be nearby!

Frantically looking around in search for the Yummy, I spotted a recognizable fin that was literally swimming in the road as if there is only water surrounding the fin. "Ruby..." I nudged her before pointing at the fin that is coming towards us.

"What is that?"

Our questions were answered when it jumped out of the water and shot some orbs that exploded, similar to the bombs that were set off, before diving to continue to swim around us.

Ruby got out her Crescent Rose while I got my O-Driver on, inserted Taka, Tora, and Batta, and scanned them. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

I was now in my King Combo as Ruby and I readied ourselves to fight what will pop out. When it dove out of the pavement, it revealed to be a shark-like humanoid.

The Shark Yummy. Terrific.

With a quick slip into her pocket, she brought out a cell medal and inserted it into the slot situated by the gun's scope of her Crescent Rose. "Let's make sushi outta this overgrown tuna!" Ruby declared.

"Uh, that's a shark," I corrected her. Her cheeks flushed pink. "Whatever, let's go!"

I used my left fist to deliver a strike to the Yummy, causing it to stumble back a bit in which Ruby took this chance as she strikes the Yummy across the chest in a diagonal angle, causing some Cell Medals to spill from its body before regeneration tended to its wounds.

It dove into the pavement again, moving faster once again before jumping out to deliver shots at us. Ruby used her Semblance to quickly dodge the attack while I was the one who got shot with one of the orbs which sent me to a car.

"Enrique!" Ruby called out, rushing towards me. "Are you okay?!"

"I-I'm alright." I answered, getting up.

We looked at the Yummy who it once again dove into the pavement, heading to the opposite direction. "Hey get back here!" I shouted at the Yummy before I made a jump and managed to catch it's fin. "Gotcha now!" I had a smirk behind my helmet, showing it was not escaping from me. Or so I thought.

It was dragging me along for the ride as I had water spilled onto my armor while being scraped across the pavement.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" I cringed with each bump. Ruby was catching up with her semblance as she matched the Yummy's speed in swimming while _I'm_ left to being dragged by the Yummy. Ruby took notice of something ahead. "Enrique! Up ah-"

Before she could finish, I came in contact with a streetlight, making Ruby cringe while I felt the impact to my helmet, making me release my grip on the Yummy's fin. Damn that hurts!

"Ow..." I groaned before getting my sense together. I slowly got up as we saw the Yummy's fin in the distance, showing it got away.

"Aw... It got away." Ruby pouted. "And I wanted to finish it with my Crescent Rose."

"Yeah but still..." I dispelled my armor. "We now have bigger problems. Remember the Piranha Yummy?"

She looked at me for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. "There'll be more of those things?! We have to tell the others!"

I nodded before Ruby and I scrunched our noses from the smell that came to our noses. "Bleh! We smell like fish!" Ruby gagged.

I held my nose, preventing the smell of fish from entering my nose. "Well, at least we have an excuse to take a bath since this morning. Some new duds wouldn't hurt either," I mused.

* * *

 _Mezool, who was in her human form, was combing her hair as she looks at the mirror, Uva with a glass along with two wine bottles he found around the mansion, and for Gamel… playing with his toys that he found in a room that once housed a child ages ago. For Kazari, he was nowhere to be found in the mansion and to their guess, traveling around the city due to the information he got from Mezool to confirm if the addresses are still current._

 _As she continues, she heard the familiar sounds of water moving, in which she looked above and saw the fin from one of her Yummys. "Welcome home." she mused with a smile, making the other two Greeed see her Yummy jump down from the ceiling._

 _They watched the Shark Yummy become a small bundle of cell medals, prompting the Greeed go into their actual forms as Gamel cheerfully grabbed a handful. "_ _ **Thank you, Mezool!"**_ _he thanked her before absorbing some._

" _ **Leave some for us, Gamel. Don't be selfish."**_ _Mezool informed._

" _ **Okay…."**_ _Gamel pouted before moving some for the others to have._

" _ **Any idea where that feline-punk is, Mezool?"**_ _Uva asked as he absorbed his stash of cell medals._

" _ **Oh, why I asked him to do something for me while we gather medals."**_

 _With that said, Kazari, who was in Vale in his human form was searching for the address of one of the contacts. Despite searching for the address, he still wonders how the newbie-OOO got hold of one of his Core Medals. How did he get it? Who gave it to him?_

 _'Could there be another group that is holding the Core Medals?' He thought. He then came to a stop when he found the address and to his surprise and interest, it was still current. He spied multiple numbers of soldiers in white, different from the military that Gamel pummeled, entering the place. Wondering who they were, he spotted a red symbol on the soldier's back. "So that's the so called White Fang." He mused lazily as he sat back, avoiding any detection as he watches._

 _Bored, he got up and walked away so he can continue to search for more of those addresses._

 _As night was coming to a close, the bomber secretly installed some bombs by the highway before setting the timers and looking at his records. He gave out a smile. "This will sure work!" He grinned before running away to head back to the warehouse._

 _However, in his warehouse, the orb released multiple counts of eggs with one of them now hatching, releasing another Shark Yummy into the city._

* * *

When we came back to Beacon, we headed back to the dorm but I didn't want to see Ankh yet after that argument. I guess the argument she overheard from me and Ankh created a lot of tension between us two. Ruby thought it would be more comfortable if I were to be in their dorm for the night since I am assigned to the team after all.

"Why do you two smell like fish?" Weiss asked from her bed.

"Well..." Ruby started.

"If you want to know why we smell like fish is because we had to deal with a Shark Yummy." I answered. "Remember how Mezool's Yummys appear?"

This made them remember the Piranha incident. "There will be more coming." Blake assumed. I nodded.

"Yeah and the way it attack was similar to the bombing from earlier." I added. "This Yummy was created from the desire to blow things up."

"Then we have to find the bomber." Yang said. "Knowing what almost happened to Coco, it will be the same for this bomber."

"Right, driven to the point where the host's mind withers." I agreed. "But I need to get rest, that Yummy already was a pain, it dragged me across the ground _and_ made me hit a streetlight."

"Talk about stopping at a red light." Yang grinned.

The rest of us groaned from her pun. "Come on, that was funny." Yang pouted. "Speaking of Yummys, how come Ankh isn't with you?"

I lowered my head. "I... got into a big argument with him," I answered. "I was very angry at him for treating me like his mule and nearly risked our lives fighting Gamel and his Yummy."

"Can't say I blame you." Weiss agreed.

"I rather not see or talk to him for the rest of the day." I muttered before i got up. "Since Ankh is right now talking to Ozpin again, I'm gonna get myself cleaned up. And come back here."

"Wait you're sleeping in this dorm?!" Weiss exclaimed, uncomfortable that a boy like me will be sleeping in their dorm.

"Would you rather hear another loud argument or even a fight going on between Enrique and Ankh?" Ruby asked her.

This made Weiss quiet and proved a point. "Fine, but you better not get any funny ideas!" She said.

"I'm not that kind of person, Weiss." I deadpanned.

I left the room and walked to my dorm to get myself cleaned up and a fresh change of clothes. I was now wearing my pajamas and carrying a small pack of clothes along with a sleeping bag to Team RWBY's dorm.

When I went returned to their dorm, I laid out my sleeping bag on the ground before getting comfortable. I soon closed my eyes to sleep and ready for tomorrow.

* * *

Morning was up and I decided to change into my uniform in my dorm room and Ankh wasn't in the room either. I was thankful that Ruby allowed me to sleep in their dorm for the night. After finishing putting on my tie, Ruby barged in the dorm room. "Enrique! Check the news!"

Wondering why, I quickly grabbed my Scroll before putting up the news and saw what was going on. "More bombings!?" I exclaimed in shock upon hearing the news.

' _This is the same bombing that was similar to the one from yesterday. Thankfully there has been no casualties. Police had revealed that this isn't the work of the White Fang. The bombings have been work of a former Atlesian Scientist according to police. His whereabouts are still unknown. If you have any information, please contact the Vale Police Department.'_

I looked at Ruby who showed concern. "We'll stop the bombings, Ruby." I assured her. She nodded as her expression changes into a determined look.

We then went to combat class, in which I saw Ankh who was now wearing a black long-sleeved, collared shirt with the right sleeve being red with some small, thin chains pinned to it, a white shirt under it with the right sleeve being long and dyed in a red-lavender color with his pants being grey with a white belt that had a chain on the right side, and black shoes. Professor Goodwitch was here as well.

"Alright people, I want to begin this class so we can get this over with." Ank said before looking at each of us. "To start thing off is a duel and this time it will be against me."

This causes murmur among the class until Goodwitch snapped her crop to quiet them down. "Enrique." He called me.

I took a deep breath before walking to the arena as I got my O-Driver out but I looked at it for a moment, thinking if I should use it in the duel like I did before. I shook my head and put it back in my pocket before I unsheath Medajalibur.

Ankh got out one of his short swords before we got into our stances and waited as the timer counted down. When it signaled, i charged first but Ankh easily blocked my attack and delivered a knee to my gut, lowering my aura.

"You still need more work." He said before pushing me back.

I clenched my hands tighter onto the blade. "I have been trying my best but all you do is not see why I have been doing this, Ankh!" I countered before charging once more and struck his blade but he used his other blade and used its blunt end to hit my chest. "Yet you often get your ass handed to you by others. You can see why humans can be annoying and weak to the Greeed." He pointed out.

I gritted my teeth. "I don't care if I am weak! I have been like that as long as I can remember!" I struck his blade. "All I care about is to prevent people from getting hurt but you don't care! Even if I am weak, I made a promise that I will help others and save them!"

I hit his sword harder as he blocked the next attack. I barely manage to dodge one of his strike as it leaves a cut on my cheek but I suckerpunched him in the face. I breathed heavily as I look at Ankh. "You have to care about others eventually, Ankh. I don't care if you hate me or my friends. Like I said to you before. If it means fighting you just to fulfill a promise for my friends."

Ankh scoffed in time as the timer went off but Ankh was yet again the winner of the match. "I may have had the urge to kill you for those words from yesterday but it will be a problem if it happened." He said before tossing me the Cheetah Medal. "I heard about the Yummy; find the host and its nest and gather the cell medals. We'll discuss the terms of this... Teamwork with your friends to retrieve the medals." He scoffed.

I slowly nodded as I caught the Core Medal. I looked at Ruby with a small smile as we then heard the bell rang in which we left the classroom.

When we left the classroom, I looked at Ruby with a determined look. "Let's go find those Yummys." I said, determined. She nodded before we went to our respective dorms to change out of our uniforms and into our clothes before we departed to Vale in search for the bomber and the Yummy.

* * *

After making it to the city, Ruby and I began to look around in search for the Yummy. We both decided to send some Taka Candroids to search for the bomber while we find the Yummy. Continuing our search, we made it to the docks until Ruby nudged her elbow, catching my attention.

"What is it?"

She pointed at a certain direction and we saw a Yumny eating raw fish by the docks.

"Ew..." Ruby and I said in unison.

Our words caught its attention, making it look at us and growl.

I quickly got my O-Driver on to insert the King Combo and scanned them. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

I was back in the armor as I got the Tora Claws ready and Ruby got her weapon ready as it had a new Cell Medal in the mechanism.

"Time for round 2!"

We charged towards the Yummy as Ruby delivered the first strike while I deliver a kick to its side, knocking it to the side. Once it stumbled to the side, Ruby stabbed the blade of her scythe to the ground and spun herself in which she delivered a kick to the Yummy, knocking it down to the ground but it took that advantage to dive into the pavement and swim around us.

It dove out of the water and struck us wherever ever we try to move out of the way but it proved to be too fast for me but not for Ruby. Wait her semblance is speed, that's it!

I quickly grabbed the Batta Medal and switched it with Cheetah and scanned the Medals.

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **CHEETAH!**

Now equipped with Cheetah Legs, Ruby and I are now able to dodge with some ease but the Yummy proved to be a challenge for us both.

"Time to catch it!" Ruby declared as she used her Semblance and dug her Crescent Rose into the Yummy's fin and drag it out of the pavement. "Now, Enrique!"

I nodded as I was about to use the Medajalibur but I was shot with an orb of water, different from the Yummy. I rolled across the ground before I slowly stood up as Ruby stood by me.

" **OOO-boya, that is my Yummy."**

We both look and saw none other than Mezool. "Mezool."

Now we were screwed. Mezool has more experience than us both together.

" **Why I haven't met you before,"** Mezool said, noticing Ruby. " **Though I have business to attend to for I won't let you hurt my 'children'."**

Her Yummy escaped due to this chance while Ruby and I now have to go against Mezool. Great.

Just as she was about to attack, she dodged some rounds, making us look to see who tried to shoot her. "Yang!?"

"Sorry I'm late." She grinned. "I thought you would need some help."

"And that is?"

"I will be fighting her." Yang said, catching us by surprise.

"Are you serious, Yang?!" Ruby exclaimed. "You remember how powerful Gamel and Kazari were!"

"Don't worry, after all, Ankh mentioned Mezool is a close combat and mid range fighter; I want to see how I can handle it." Yang assured.

I looked at her for a moment. "Be careful." I stated. She nodded as Ruby and I went after the Yummy.

* * *

 _"_ _ **My, my, and I thought someone couldn't have more beauty as me."**_ _Mezool mused. "_ _ **What is your name?"**_

 _"Yang Xaio Long." She answered. "And I'm gonna show you what happens when you Greeed hurt my little sister." She cracked her knuckles as her Ember Celica was now ready, powered with both Core Energy and Dust. She charged forward as Mezool was prepared for a fight._

 _Yang delivered the first attack but was blocked by Mezool before she countered it with a kick with her knee, making Yang stumble back._

 _"_ _ **Certainly are an interesting fighter judging from the force of your punch."**_

 _Yang grinned before she punched the ground as her rounds created a firewall in front of Mezool._

 _Mezool 'smiled' as she used her water orb to douse the fire but didn't expect that Yang used that firewall to get close to her as Yang delivered a punch to Mezool's chest, spilling some cell medals. Mezool first thought that Yang's weapon would not make her spill cell medals but from whatever is powering the gauntlets is allowing her to._

 _"I figured you would do that for the fish you are." Yang said before delivering another punch with Mezool using her right arm to block it._

 _"_ _ **Amusing."**_ _She said before she used both of her feet to kicked Yang back. "_ _ **You certainly are a challenge, I wonder how you lost to Kazari?"**_

 _She continued to attack by delivering kicks and punches as Yang did her best to block them. Mezool ducked from the next attack as she swiped Yang's legs, causing her to fall back._

 _Yang noticed Mezool's foot, aimed at her face in which she dodged it by rolling over but the force from that stomp caused a small crack on the ground._

 _Checking the mechanism in her weapon, she saw that there still is some Core Energy within Ember Celica. She looked at Mezool who was charging towards her in which Yang was ready to deliver an attack._

 _If Mezool had a mouth, she would have smiled as she noticed the blonde's early signs of an attack being prepared. Just as Yang delivered the strike, Mezool turned her entire body into water upon instinct. "What-"_

 _Before Yang could finish her sentence, Mezool reconstructed herself as she kicked Yang in the gut, causing a major depletion in her Aura. She then delivered another kick, sending Yang to the wall._

 _Yang endured the punches and kicks as she fell onto the ground but Mezool wasn't done just yet. She conjured water around the blonde before creating a dome that became a water bubble, lifting Yang; attempting to drown her._

 _The brawler did her best to hold her breath but water soon took over, as it tries to drown her to death with the Fish Greeed watching the scene unfold in front of her. 'Come on…' Yang thought, trying to plan on what to do against Mezool until an idea popped up in her head. 'That's it!'_

 _She closed her eyes and relaxed all of her muscles, playing dead. Mezool noticed her limp opponent, showing she 'killed' her opponent to her amusement. She smiled before making the bubble vanish, making the latter fall onto the ground. Reverting to her human form, Mezool approached the blonde, nudging her shoulder to check if she is dead. With no movement, the Fish Greeed was victorious._

 _Or so she thought._

 _Yang opened her eyes before she delivered an even more brutal strike to Mezool, "Gotcha!" Yang rasped, the water in her throat doing nothing to hamper the moment. This took Mezool by shock and surprise. The blonde brawler faked her death in order to use that advantage to make Mezool revert to her human form, her vunerable form._

 _"W-What the?" Mezool cringed as she grasped the brawler's arm, in a desperate bid to remove her, hurt her, anything that would save her Cores, which she had no doubt that the blonde bitch was aiming for._

 _"Get...off-" she was cut off by Yang doing just that, the latter pulling out her arm with all the strength she still had. Her insides were caving in, but that didn't deter her from looking down at her prize. Four. Four Medals for the price of one. Yang smirked in triumph. "Looks like I got myself a fine catch." She smirked before looking at Mezool from a short distance._

 _With four Core Medals now gone, she felt her lovely Tako Boots bursts within her. She also felt her loss of power, leaving her to stay in human form. "Y-you haven't seen the last of me. Next time... You won't be lucky." She weakly vowed before retreating._

 _"I'll be ready for that!" She countered. She looked at her palm again and grinned. She could use the four Core Medals as leverage to Ankh if he acts like a jerk to her and the others. Putting them in her pocket, she quickly went to find Enrique and Ruby by getting on her motorcycle._

* * *

We continued to go after the Yummy that we were chasing but I saw the Taka Candroid flying towards us. "You found the bomber?"

It nodded, gesturing us follow it. As much we have to go after the Yummy, we have to find the bomber before his desire causes him to create casualties from the bombs.

We followed the Candroid until we came across a warehouse. Suddenly, we heard the sound of Yang's motorcycle in which we saw her getting off and walking towards us. Her clothes were a bit damp as if someone threw water at her.

"You alright?" I asked.

"I'm alright, I'll tell you what happened later." She assured before looking at the warehouse. "Is this where the bomber is?"

I nodded. "This is where the Candroids follow him to." I answered.

"Then let's stop him." Yang declared before busting the door down.

We ran inside and saw the man who was the former Atlesian scientist as he was placing a new set of bombs into his bag. "Stop right there!" I shouted.

The man looked at us. "Stop what you are doing and get away from those bombs." I informed.

"I have every right for my experiments! Ironwood said they were ineffective. I will show him how effective they are! I will show him **more** and **more!"** He responded.

He was going mad with this. "Ruby, get those bombs carefully with your Semblance, I'll use Cheetah legs to stop him." I whispered. "Yang apprehend him once we do."

The two nodded as Ruby and I use the speed as she snatched the bags out of the man's hand while I got hold of him as he was struggling in my grip before he punched my gut with his elbow, freeing himself.

He was gonna go after Ruby for taking his bombs but Yang pinned him to the ground.

"Those are my bombs! Give them back!" The scientist demanded.

"Not in your dreams." Yang said before I knocking the man out. "That takes care of that but wher-" a drop of water fell on her shoulder. Noticing the droplet, we slowly looked where the water droplet came from and were shocked to what we saw.

"Holy cow..." Yang muttered in shock.

There were at least 15 eggs, carrying the Shark Yummys. Ruby was about to shoot the orb that makes the eggs grow but we were too late, the Yummys immediately hatch, making us avoid from being stomped on.

Now we had to deal with 15 Shark Yummys. This is just great. They all stood up before looking at us like lunch for the Sharks they are. "Yang... Get on your motorcycle and get that scientist to the police." I informed. "Ruby, use your Semblance and run!" I shouted as we all retreated out of the warehouse.

When we got out, the Yummys jumped out of the windows and dove into the pavement and swam towards the city.

"They heading to the center of town! There's a lot of people there!" Ruby stated.

"Gotta think, gotta think.." I said walking back and forth until a lightbulb came up. "Ruby, I know a way for us to finish all 15 before they get to the center of the city." I presented the Lion Core Medal since I still have Tora and Cheetah equipped.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded. "It's better than doing nothing." I said before I became determined. "You ready Ruby?"

"Let's do it to it, Enrique!." Ruby proudly declared.

I switch Taka with Lion before I scanned them once more.

 **LION!**

 **TORA!**

 **CHEETAH!**

 **RATA RATA…RATORA~TAH!**

I was instantly donned in the all-yellow armor of the Ratoratah Combo, aka the Scorching Combo.

 **(Cue RaToraTah Combo - Ride On Right Time)**

What the!?

Sweet Mother of GOD what a rush! This is definitely WAY different than the Gatakiriba Combo, it's like I just downed several GALLONS worth of coffee right now and my body is feeling PUMPED! UP!

This is unbelievable! Is this what Kazari feels when he's at full power? I feel like I can run all day - no - two days! Probably longer than that...wait...where was I?

"Enrique, the Yummies!" Ruby reminded.

"Oh yeah the Yummies." I said, getting out of my thinking.

I got into a stance before I began to run fast. _REALLY fast! "_ Wooh!" I shouted in glee. This was the rush of a lifetime!

"No fair!" Ruby pouted as she went faster.

Our speed matched the Yummys as the Tora Claws were extended before I clawed each fin, making the Yummys get out of the pavement.

Ruby struck some of them, getting them out of the pavement before killing them while I was handling some of them as well. This was definitely a rush!

"Ruby get to cover! Things are about to heat up!" I said.

Ruby saw the Liondas glowing and swiftly sped away to take cover. She knew what the headpiece was capable of during a Random Combo and since I was using a Full Combo the effect should be even more devastating. Hearing the lion's roar, my helmet glowed as it began to emit an intense light that began to heat everything around me. The Yummys cowered as the heat was burning them, some into crisps. Even some of the light posts and streetlight began to melt.

Once the light died down, there was only one Shark Yummy remaining as parts of its body was burned badly. "Let's finish this!" I declared as I scanned the Medals.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

Three yellow rings appeared in front of me in which I charged towards the Yummy, through the rings as the light increase more, burning the Yummy before I used the Tora claws and struck the Yummy in a cross strike, making it explode into Cell Medals.

( **End Song)**

Seeing all Yummyd gone and defeated, we were relieved that they didn't make it to the center of town. I was breathing heavily as I could barely move my arms but barely managed to tilt the buckle back to its original position, dispelling my armor. I fell on my knees until Ruby got hold of my shoulder, helping me up. "Thanks... Ruby." I thanked her weakly. "At least the people are safe... From the Shark Yummys."

"Let's get back to Beacon so you can rest." She said. I slowly nodded as she helped me walk back to the bullhead and back to Beacon.

* * *

 _Ozpin and Glynda watched the footage of the Shark Yummy fight as they watched Enrique yet again using another combo._

 _"The ability of incredible speed and burn things with heat as intense as the sun." Ozpin said. "Our student really has potential."_

 _"Ironwood has been informed about the former scientist's arrest." Glynda informed him. "And the Council are gonna be backing off for now since Mister Alderete showed what he can do."_

 _"At least he will understand why Ankh and Enrique are doing this." Ozpin muttered before taking a sip. "This young man might be the only hope to stop the Greeed from causing more destruction."_

* * *

 _Meanwhile in the mansion, Kazari walked inside and noticed Mezool's condition, sensing her loss of power as well as Core Medals. Not to mention seeing in her human form. "I take it you lost your Core Medals." He chuckled._

 _Gamel glared at Kazari before tending to his sister/mommy due to her state. "Mezool, I will get your Core Medal back. I will make you proud."_

 _"That's my Gamel." Mezool smiled as she gently rubbed his head, making Gamel smile bashfully._

 _"What brings you back, Kazari?" Uva questioned._

 _"Oh nothing. Except one of the addresses leads to a White Fang base." He answered catching their interest._

 _"The White Fang. A gold mine for all of us." Uva grinned. He can tell that the White Fang are brimmed with desires knowing of the crimes he heard that they committed._

 _"All those Faunus, filled with desires." Mezool smiled._

 _"Medals, medals, medals!" Gamel cheered._

 _"Then why not go for it?" Kazari suggested. "After all we are superior to the Faunus and they don't even know there origins of how they actually came to be. We will have more Cell Medals, soldiers to do the work for us, and... Weapons crafted just for us."_

 _"Then it's settled. We attack their base once Mezool gets her strength back." Uva declared._

 _Kazari grinned but mentally, he's aware they have a leader in that organization and plans to do one thing: work together with the leader behind his fellow Greeeds' backs._

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (X1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Tako (x2)**

 **Unagi (x2)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"This is the part where you lose." Cardin said to Jaune.

"Oh, I know! We'll break his legs!" Nora said with an insane smile. I swore Ankh had a smile of agreement upon hearing that.

' _I have to stand up for myself...'_ I reminded myself in thought as I stare intensely at Cardin as he still had his grip on Velvet's ears while glaring at me.

 **Next Time: Jaunedice, Bullies, and Friends**

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter as well as the introduction of the Scorching Combo and Yang fighting Mezool with the reward of four Core Medals. The next chapter will be back on the RWBY storyline. Look forward to it and I will see you all later. Don't forget to check out my newest story, **Reapers of the Black Bullet (Halo 5 x Black Bullet)**. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	9. Chapter 9:Jaunedice, Bullies, Friendship

**A/N:** Welcome back everyone! I am here with the ninth chapter of the story! Sorry for the late upload, I recently got back from my time at Nekocon 18! I cosplayed as Souji Tendou wearing the Kabuto Zecter from Kamen Rider Kabuto and I had a lot of fun as well, not to mention I bought some stuff there as well. Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]). Also we are back on the RWBY storyline knowing that in chapters 1, 2, and 3 took place in some of the episodes and so this chapter will take place in the episode. Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we?

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _Jaune was panting as he held onto his knees to stand in front of his opponent, the mace wielder known as Cardin Winchester. Cardin chuckled before Jaune made a last ditch effort and charged him head-on. Cardin slid to the left and let Jaune's momentum carry him past Cardin. Once Jaune was past him, he swung his mace and hit Jaune's shield, knocking him back a few feet to the ground. Jaune got up quickly and charged once again, colliding his sword against Cardin's mace. Cardin levered himself over Jaune._

 _"This is the part where you lose." He said as he grinned._

 _"Over my dead-!" Jaune winced out as Cardin kicked him in his gut, causing him to lower to the ground. Knocked to the ground, Jaune's arm curled around his torso, slowly struggling to roll back to his feet. As his head turned, he saw Cardin above him, his mace raised for a finishing blow to cave his head in, only to be stopped by the lights blaring back on and a buzzer sounding off behind him._

 _The sharp voice of Glynda Goodwitch then pierced the following silence as Cardin slowly backed away. "Cardin, that's enough." Glynda Goodwitch spoke as the lights flashed back on for the whole room and a buzzer sounded, signalling the match was over._

* * *

Ouch, even with the training that Ankh gave the both of us, he lost to Cardin, who he and his team beat the crap out of me a couple of weeks ago.

Professor Goodwitch turns back to the rest of us, she raised her scroll, showing the levels of Aura remaining in the two participating students. "Students, as you see, Mister Arc's Aura has dropped down into the red. If this were a tournament style duel, this would indicate that Jaune would no longer be fit to continue the battle and the official would call the match."

Turning back to look at the downed teen, she looked over him with an unimpressed expression on her face. "Mister Arc, it has been weeks now, please try to refer to your scroll when in combat. Not to mention, you have been receiving training from Professor Ankh. Gauging your Aura will help you decide whether it is the right time to attack or if a more defensive strategy would be a wiser choice. We wouldn't want you to be gobbled up by a Beowolf now, would we?" She continued.

With a snicker, Cardin left the stage. "Speak for yourself…"

Ankh on the other hand scoffed knowing that he could tell the Cardin is a show off, acting like a total big shot.

Professor Goodwitch looked at us as Yang was punching the air in anticipation; Weiss, shaking her fists with an excited smile; and Ruby, shaking her entire body with enthusiastic energy while squealing softly. "Remember, everyone, the Vytal Festival is only a few months away! It won't be long before students from the other kingdoms start arriving in Vale, so keep practicing! Those who choose to compete in the combat tournament will be representing all of Vale!"

The bell rings, and students start leaving while Pyrrha continues to frown sadly. Jaune, still sitting on the floor, hangs his head in shame. To be honest I feel bad for him as well since he did his best to beat Cardin from all he and I went through from Ankh's training.

Ever since the Shark Yummy frenzy, no pun intended, Ankh got some cell medals that he needed but we also had to pay back 300 cell medals to the Kougami Foundation which he was unhappy about but hey, we owe them for saving Ankh and the body he is possessing.

As we walked, I remembered what Goodwitch said about the Vytal festival. I never been to one to be honest but judging from Ruby and the other's reactions, it seemed very important and probably fun. Not to mention a battle tournament, now that sounds interesting and fun. Maybe I should join the tournament once my training gets better.

I guess my time in Remnant might not be so bad after all despite what has been going on for the past three months for me.

"The kid still has a long way to go if he ever wants to get better." Ankh commented.

"Come on, Ankh, I'm sure he'll catch up soon." I pointed out.

"Whatever you say." He scoffed before quickly looking at Yang. "Yang, I demand you hand them over."

Huh? Why is he asking her that?

"Oh you mean these?" She answers presenting... Holy cow. It was two Tako and two Unagi Core Medals! She actually got some of Mezool's Core Medals.

"You got Core Medals!?" Weiss exclaimed.

"Yep, a trophy for wounding Mezool." She grinned.

"WHAT!? You actually wounded Mezool?!" Ruby and Weiss shrieked.

Ankh was about to grab them but Yang only handed him the Tako Medals before quickly placing the Ungai Medals in her pocket. "Not this time birdman." She said before crossing her arms. "You have been acting like a jerk to us especially to Enrique. I think it's fair that if you be more nicer to us if you want to get the other two Medals."

This made Ankh glare at Yang before absorbing the two Tako Medals in his Greeed Arm and walked away from us.

"Well played Yang." I gave her a thumbs up.

"I do my best." She shrugged with a smile.

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Jaunedice, Bullies, and Friendship**

It was now lunchtime as Ankh and I were sitting with Team RWBY and Team JNPR as Nora, in an ominous voice, was telling her most recent tale… again. "So there we were, in the middle of the night…"

Ren's monotone voice then cut in. 'It was day."

"We were surrounded by Ursa…"

"They were Beowolves."

"Dozens of them!"

"Only two of them."

"But they were no match, and in the end Ren and I took them down and made a boatload of Liens selling Ursa skin rugs." Nora crossed her arms grinning proudly.

Ren gave a shake of his head and sighed. "She has been having this dream for nearly a month now…"

"At least she isn't a big headache... at times." Ankh scoffed before taking a bite of his soup. At least he isn't eating ice cream all the time now.

Pyrrha glanced over at Jaune, who was picking at his food with an off look on his face. "Jaune, are you okay?"

Jumping back into awareness, he glanced around, nodding with a false smile. "Yeah, I'm totally fine. Why do you ask?"

Ruby glanced up at him, frowning slightly. "It's just that you are acting kind of… not okay."

"I agree with them." I agreed. "Something is bothering you."

Jaune sighed, and then gave a thumb up with another false smile. "Guys I am fine, seriously. Look at me, perfectly okay!" Glancing over his shoulder, Jaune saw the members of Team CRDL making fun of Velvet, and clenched his fist.

Ankh and I took notice of what he was looking at and I got upset that they are picking on her again. But Ankh, I notice that he is _literally_ bending the spoon as if something made him pissed. I mean, I never seen him like that _at all._ Sure the other Greeed and the Kougami Foundation can upset him at times, but this was different.

Did something set him off upon seeing Cardin bullying Velvet?

Pyrrha placed her hand on Jaune's shoulder her face wearing an expression of concern. "Jaune, Cardin has been picking on you since the first week of school."

"Who, Cardin Winchester? He just likes to mess around, you know? Practical jokes."

"They are not practical jokes." My eyes were still narrowed, looking in said bully's direction. "He's a bully, Jaune."

"Oh please, name one time he has 'bullied' me." Jaune stated in his unconvincing defiance.

"He knocked your books down to the ground." I said.

"That was just a friendly shove." Jaune's defense was weak: we all saw that Cardin had gone out of his way to hit Jaune.

"He made you get stuck to the doorway thanks to your shield." Ankh added.

"It's an old piece of equipment. It does that all the time." Jaune's defense continued to slip: Cardin had blatantly and obviously made his shield unfurl into the doorway.

My scowl deepened. "And he stuffed you in a locker and sent you flying, literally." I finished. I witnessed it as well and it made me remember my times when I was shoved in a normal locker... many times of being in dark, enclosed space, just waiting for someone to open it to get me out. Thank God I didn't develop claustrophobia from all that.

"I didn't land far from the school." Jaune wasn't even trying to defend anymore.

"Jaune." Pyrrha spoke up. "You know, if you ever need help you can just ask." She pointed up in a helpful tone.

"You should take her advice Jaune." I added, not averting my eyes on Cardin. "There is a reason why we have teammates, why we have friends." I took a swig of my soda as I observed Cardin continuing his harassment of Velvet.

"Oh, I know! We'll break his legs!" Nora said with an insane smile. I swore Ankh had a smile of agreement upon hearing that.

"Guys it's okay." Jaune tried to assure us. "Besides, it's not like he's a jerk to me. He's a jerk to everybody." He added. Velvet's complaints however were still heard through the cafeteria.

"Ow! That hurts!" Velvet stops struggling and grimaces as she says, "Please, stop..."

Cardin continues to laugh as he turns to his cronies. "I told you it was real!"

Russell was still guffawing with his teammates. "What a freak!"

I crushed the can in my hand. That is it! I had enough! This was both discriminating and hurtful to what they are doing to Velvet.

Before I could even get off my seat, Ankh beat me to it. "Ankh, what are you-"

"Let me handle this…" He said, interrupting me. This is the first time that he sound serious from a situation like this. "You go back to your seat."

"But I-"

He gave me a look, showing he was definitely serious and I shouldn't deny his statement. I stood back a bit as I watch.

"Oi! What is going on here?" Ankh ordered Team CRDL.

The said team noticed him as Cardin was the first to speak up. "Relax _Professor_ Ankh, we were just having a nice chat." Cardin lied. Ankh on the other hand, his frown turn into an angry look.

"You should let her go, Winchester. There's bullying, and there's just plain harassment. Don't force my hand." Ankh said, hiding the anger he was willing to lash out on Cardin.

"She's a Faunus. And why are you helping that guy? Not to mention you gave him that fancy armor." He pointed at me. Ankh was quiet from hearing the word Faunus.

"Nothing to say? Then you can go-" before he could finish, Ankh kicked him in the groin. "...away" He squealed as he released Velvet and fell to the ground.

"Cardin!" His cronies frantically went to him as I looked at Velvet who ran out of the cafeteria, covering her face.

"Word of advice Winchester." Ankh started before his tone became serious. " _Never_ bully or harass a Faunus _ever_ again when I am here. Or you will expect some 'discipline'. I may be a teacher here, but that doesn't mean shit if you're just gonna act like a goddamn thug."

Cardin got his senses back before he looked at Ankh with some anger. "Get him!"

I took a deep breath before walking back to the table since I had no doubt Ankh would win the fight. I noticed Blake have a small smile gracing on her lips, she must have read what I was about to do. I grabbed my tray before discarding my food into the garbage and walked away.

"Hey, Enrique, where are you going?" Ruby noticed my departure. I turned my head, so she could hear me.

"I've lost my appetite." I responded. And without another word, I left the cafeteria to find Velvet.

* * *

After searching around, I found Velvet by the tree, as I saw she was still crying. My eyes softened upon seeing this. Cardin and his cronies did enough to her already. Seeing her like this... It's too painful to see.

"Velvet." I called out.

She slowly turned her head and saw me. "Enrique..." She turned away, probably ashamed knowing that I saw her get bullied by Cardin.

I sat down by her as I look at the sky. "Velvet, remember I told you about not being alone?"

She slowly nodded as she wipes away her tears.

"You are never alone, Velvet. We, your friends, are there for you." I reminded. "Please Velvet, you have to stand up for yourself against bullies like Cardin because in the end... It will only get worse." I held back the urge to remember all those times when I was bullied back home, during middle and high school. The times I was shoved in lockers, beaten to the point that I nearly got into a hospital one time, and called names and such.

"How can I tell him to stop…?" She questioned. "I tried and…" Her tears returned, knowing that Cardin won't stop with the bullying to her.

To comfort her, I slowly pulled her in an embrace with my arm as I heard her continue to cry upon my uniform. ' _I ask myself the same question back then…'_ I thought.

I pulled away from the embrace and looked at her. "We are here for you Velvet. Don't forget that you are truly never alone." I said. "Just remember Velvet, no matter who we are, Faunus or Human, we are the same no matter what they say."

A smile soon graced her lips as I wiped away a tear that was running down her cheek. "To tell you the truth, Velvet, when I first came to this academy, I was scared."

This caught her by surprise. "You were?"

I nodded. "At first, I thought I wouldn't survive even with the armor that I use." I admitted. "There are often days that I doubt myself, unable to do something or even stand up for myself… But I came to learn that having friends there for you, it shows you are not alone. Being with Team RWBY taught me that. Like you Velvet, even if you are a Faunus, there are people who care about you; we see you as a normal person. We see you as our friend." I showed a small smile.

Velvet smiled in response. She still had Team CFVY to be there for her while I have my friends being there for me. I then looked at the time on my Scroll. "We should get back with the others." I informed. She nodded as we both walked away.

"Thank you, Enrique." she thanked.

I smiled. "It's what friends do, Velvet." I smiled. "We look out for each other after all."

We walked back inside the school and headed to the next class, Professor Oobleck's class.

* * *

I was now in Professor Oobleck's class, sitting next to Blake as we listened in on the lecture. Ankh was watching, listening to the lecture but to him, he knows the true history given that he was sealed for 800 years but he was also looking over the Core Medals we currently have.

However, for Professor Oobleck, he was yet again in another hyperactive lecture. I am still wondering how much coffee he even drinks a day. I mean if he is able to appear out of nowhere, it makes me think he drinks coffee during his whole life.

Right now, he was talking about the Faunus War as we listened. "This is prior to the Faunus Rights Revolution, more popularly known as the Faunus War!" He zooms up to the front of the class and the map covered in papers behind his desk. "Humankind was quite, quite adamant about centralizing Faunus population in Menagerie."

He points at the map of said-area with his stick, then zooms off to the side for a sip of his coffee before appearing in front of the desk. "Now! While this must feel like ancient history to many of you, it is imperative to remember that these are relatively recent events! Why, the repercussions of the uprising can still be seen to this day!" He zooms around the classroom more, sipping his coffee again before continuing to zoom and talk. "Now! Have any among you been subjugated or discriminated because of your Faunus heritage?"

I notice some students raise their hands. Velvet was nervous at first but she slowly raised her hand.

"Dreadful, simply dreadful! Remember students, it is precisely this kind of ignorance that breeds violence." He finished his statement with a sip from his cup. "I mean, I mean, I mean just look at what happened to White Fang! Now, which one of you young scallions can tell me what many theorize to be the turning point in the third year of the War?" He then noticed Weiss who raised her hand. "Yes?"

"The Battle at Fort Castle!" She answered.

"Precisely! And, who can tell me the advantage the Faunus had over General Lagune's forces?" He stated.

I notice Jaune's head raised up, showing that he woke up. "Hey!"

I was confused at first to why he said that until I saw Cardin with a grin, showing that he forced Jaune to wake up by possibly throwing something at him.

Professor Oobleck zooms over to Jaune. "Mr. Arc! Finally contributing to class! This is excellent! Excellent! What is the answer?" he asked.

"Uhh...the answer...the advantage, uhh the faunus...had over that guy's stuff..." Jaune saw Pyrrha trying to give him the answer by forming her hands into, what looked like, binoculars. At least she is trying to help him.

"Uhh, binoculars!" Jaune quickly said as the thought he was right...but he wasn't and some students laughed as he realized he was wrong and Oobleck (back at the front of the class) sips his coffee. Pyrrha sighs and slaps a hand to her forehead as Cardin pounds his fist on his desk while chortling. Ankh scoffed, probably thinking that Jaune was an idiot for thinking the answer was binoculars.

I, too, sighed since that wasn't the answer, Pyrrha was trying to tell him it was Night Vision.

"Very funny, Mr Arc. Cardin, perhaps you would care to share your thoughts on the subject?" Oobleck casually asked.

"Well, I know it's a lot easier to train an animal than a soldier." Cardin said, all calm and cool.

Again, I noticed Ankh gritting his teeth, showing that he is pissed. Not to mention he is clenching his fist. Seriously, what is making Ankh like this?

"You're not the most open-minded of individuals, are you, Cardin?" Pyrrha questioned.

"What? You got a problem?" Cardin looked over at Pyrrha and asked with a smug on his face.

"Actually no," she said. "The answer is that many Faunus have night vision. In which it gives them near-perfect sight in the dark, thus giving them the advantage." she said, getting the correct answer.

This made Cardin growl at her correct response.

Blake took over and continued from her answer. "General Lagoon was inexperienced and made the mistake of trying to ambush the faunus in their sleep. His massive army was outmatched and the General was captured." She then looked at Cardin. "Perhaps if he paid attention in class, he wouldn't have been remembered as such a failure."

Cardin clenched his fist and stood up glaring at Blake, but Professor Oobleck sighed and said, "Mr. Winchester, please take your seat." Jaune was heard chuckling softly but the Professor slid up to his desk. "You and Mr. Arc can both see me after class for additional readings. Now! Moving on!"

"Nice one, Blake." I complemented with a thumb up. She smiled with a nod as we continued to listen in to the lecture.

* * *

 _Once class was over, Jaune and Cardin were being talked to by Professor Oobleck for about 10 minutes before leaving the classroom._

 _Jaune was the first one to leave the classroom before Cardin pushed him down, earning a laugh from seeing Jaune fall._

" _You know, I really will break his legs." Pyrrha said, helping Jaune get back on his feet._

 _Jaune sighs, and Pyrrha looks like she is struck by inspiration "I have an idea! Here, come with me!" she grabs a confused Jaune by the arm and drags him along as she turns down the corridor._

 _After a couple of minutes, they came onto a rooftop of one of the buildings, with a clear view of the glowing green orbs in the central tower of Beacon._

" _Pyrrha, I know I'm going through a hard time right now, but I'm not that depressed." He looks over the edge of the roof, to the confusion of Pyrrha. "I can always be a farmer or something..."_

 _This made Pyrrha realized what he meant. "N-n-no!" She dashes to push Jaune away from the edge, "That's not why I brought you up here. Jaune, I know you're having a difficult time in class and that you're still not the strongest of fighters, so... I want to help you."_

 _It looked like it was offensive to what she said to him, as he replied, "Ah, what?" He said, taken back a bit._

 _"We can train up here after class where no one can bother us. It won't be as difficult as Ankh's training that he gives us."_

" _You think I need help?"_

 _"N-no! No, that's not what I meant." She said._

" _But you just said it." Jaune said plainly._

 _"Jaune, everyone needs a little push from time to time. It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us. You made it to Beacon that speaks volumes of what you are capable of." Pyrrha reassured him that he belonged there._

 _"You're wrong, I-I don't belong here."_

 _"That's a terrible thing to say of course you do."_

 _"No, I don't!" Jaune raised his voice a bit, causing confusion from Pyrrha. "I wasn't really accepted into Beacon..."_

 _"What do you mean?" Pyrrha questioned._

 _"I mean I didn't go to combat school, I didn't pass any test, I didn't earn my spot at this academy, I lied! I got my hands on some fake transcripts, and I lied." Jaune finished._

 _"What? But why?" Pyrrha asked with concern._

 _"Because, this is what I always wanted to be! My father, my grandfather and his father before him were all warriors, they were all heroes! I wanted to be one too, I was just never good enough."_

 _"Then let me help you-" Pyrrha put a hand on Jaune shoulder and he quickly turned back away from her._

 _"I don't want help! I don't want to be the damsel in distress, I want to be the hero!"_

 _"Jaune, I-"_

 _"I'm tired of being the lovable idiot stuck in the tree, while his friend fight for their lives. Don't you understand?" He questioned before pointing by the ledge, seeing Enrique who was talking to Ruby and Weiss who were at the ground. "Take him for example, Pyrrha. He is like me but at the same time, he isn't the damsel in distress. He has that cool armor and even fought those Yummy. If I can't do this on my own, then what good am I?"_

 _Pyrrha attempts to reach out for his arm and console him, but he leans back from her touch._

" _Just...leave me alone, okay?" Jaune asked her._

 _"If that's what you think is best." Pyrrha said sadly and walked back into the roof entrance, and down the stairs._

 _Jaune paces a little until he hears a mocking laugh and Cardin appears on the roof from his window. "Oh, Jaune..."_

 _Jaune looked behind him and saw Cardin. "Cardin!" He panicked._

" _I couldn't help but overhear you two from my dorm room. So, you snuck into beacon huh? I gotta say Jaune, I never expected you to be such a rebel." Cardin folded his arms and grinned, knowing he now has the ability to blackmail poor Jaune._

 _"Please, Cardin please don't tell anyone." Jaune pleaded._

 _"Jaune, come on, I'd never rat out a friend like that." Cardin walked over to Jaune._

 _"Uh, a friend?"_

 _"Of course." Cardin put Jaune in a friendly headlock and continued. "We're friends now Jauney-boy. And the way I see it as long as you're there for me when I need you, we'll be friends for a long time." He dropped Jaune and he breathed heavily. "That being said, I really don't have time to do those readings Dr. Oobleck gave us today. Think you could take care of that, buddy? That's what I thought..." Cardin walked back over to the ledge and slid down to where Jaune could still see him. "Don't worry Jaune, your secret is safe with me." And Cardin hopped down from the ledge._

 _Jaune sighed. "Man, what did I get myself into..."_

" _ **You wanted to be the hero. Is that what you desire the most?"**_ _A voice all too familiar to him. This made Jaune to quickly turn around and saw in fear and horror to see who was on top of the rooftop entrance. It was the Feline Greeed, Kazari who was lazily lying on his side with his arm cradling his head. "_ _ **Not to mention, your hidden anger on the 'bully' makes it a good combination."**_

" _Y-you!?" Jaune exclaimed in fear._

 _Kazari jumped down as he casually walks toward the blonde but circled around him, like a lion circling its upcoming prey. Jaune on the other hand was panicking knowing that Kazari is gonna turn him into something that was done the same way to Nora._

" _ **So your desire is to become a hero…? Like OOO?"**_ _He questioned him before he leaned against the wall, preventing Jaune from escaping but at the same time, preventing anyone from interfering. "_ _ **All those women liking you, commenting your 'heroism'. People respecting you. Why, think of the fun you could have with that desire, the power?"**_ _He then 'smiled'. "_ _ **Better yet, impress your heroism to the snow girl. Be a better hero than OOO."**_

 _He was reading Jaune like a book, but at the same time, scheming to make Jaune a host for a Yummy despite being able to create a Yummy as quick as saying Dust._

 _Jaune wanted to deny knowing that the Yummys that Kazari creates, from what he heard from Enrique, are able to possess as well as pushing the host beyond the limit. But at the same time, he doesn't know what to do._

" _Ho-ho no! I know your game Kazari, I won't fall for it." He refused. His inner thoughts however, spoke differently. 'What's he getting at? Can he really give me power? Make me a hero?'_

 _"_ _ **Yes and yes**_ _," Kazari answered._

 _Jaune's eyes shot up. "Wha-h-how did you-?"_

 _ **"I read your mind. So kid, you want to be a hero, or what?**_ _" Kazari drawled._

 _Jaune bit his lip. He needed to get the bug out of there, and as far away from Kazari as possible. Then he recalled; much to his ever growing panic, that it would be a useless gesture to so much as turn around, knowing that the feline would just zip past him just like that._

" _I…"_

 _Kazari cupped his ear. "_ _ **Louder kid, what is your answer? Do you wish to be a hero? Or be a sore loser?"**_

 _Jaune gulped before he said the words that Kazari wanted to hear._

" _I want to be a hero! I want to live up to the Arc name!"_

" _ **Let's see if your desire is really that strong**_ _," spoke Kazari ominously as he held up a Cell Medal to Jaune's face. Instantly, a slot for the coin appeared and Kazari tossed the Cell Medal inside. He stepped back and watched as the golden aura arose from Jaune and what appeared to be bandages started to wrap around Jaune's forearms, marking him as a Yummy's host. "_ _ **Here's the deal; wear something to cover them if you never want your… friends to see. Plus, you won't be possessed and Ankh won't sense it."**_ _He said but mentally, he knew that the Yummy within Jaune will only gather all the anger, all the desires within him but at the same time control him during certain situations until he reaches near infection, taking over._

 _Jaune quickly ran away from Kazari leaving him amused that he fooled the blonde. "_ _ **Now time to watch the event."**_ _He chuckled before he disappeared into a cluster of medals and vanished._

 _With Jaune, he felt guilty that he made a very bad deal with Kazari but if he wants to be a hero than he had somewhat no choice besides, Kazari was gonna turn him either way, denying the offer or not._

* * *

After talking with Ruby and Weiss, I was walking back to my dorm until I saw Pyrrha who seems to be sad. I wonder what's wrong? To help, I walked up to her. "Hey Pyrrha, did something happen?" I asked.

"I tried to offer Jaune some help, without the training not being as harsh as Ankh's."

"I see…" I muttered. For the training part I can understand since Ankh is like some drill Sergeant when it comes to that. She looked pretty hurt from whatever Jaune said to her. "I'm sure Jaune will get there, I know he will."

She looked at me before she slowly nodded. "I hope so..." She said.

"Maybe I can talk to him so he can get some help from you." I suggested. "Do you know where he is?"

"I talked to him at the rooftop." She replied.

"Okay, then let's go." I said as I followed Pyrrha.

After reaching the rooftop, Jaune was nowhere in sight. "You sure that Jaune was here?"

"Yeah, I talked to him and he wanted to be alone after that." Pyrrha responded looking around.

I looked over the ledge and to my relief no Jaune but still, where did he go? "I wonder where Jaune went…" I wondered. "Pyrrha, what did Jaune say to you?"

She looked down as she became sad. "When I offered to help him, he denied it." She explained. "The reason why is because he wants to be a hero, and…"

"And what?"

"He doesn't want any help..." She felt hurt knowing that Jaune said that to her when his own teammate is just trying to help out her teammate/leader.

I sighed. "I'm sure he has a lot in his mind, we'll find him." I assured her. She nodded as we went back to our respective dorms and see if Jaune will return later on.

Once I made it back to my dorm, I saw Ankh on the top bunk, typing on his Scroll. I, on the other hand, chose to go to my desk to do my homework for the classes.

Still, Jaune should have accepted Pyrrha's offer. She was trying to help him but instead he denied any help. I just hope he doesn't do anything bad.

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (X1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Tako (x2)**

 **Unagi (x2)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"Why is Jaune with that bully Cardin?" I muttered to myself as I saw him leave with Cardin while the said bully glowered at me when he noticed me.

"Jaune, you need to control yourself before that Yummy takes full control over you!" Pyrrha pleaded.

 **SAGOZO… SAGOZO!**

 **Next Time: A Trip to Forever Fall! The Gravity Combo Arrives!**

* * *

 **A/N:** I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter as well as the preview at the end. Don't forget to check out my other stories including **Kamen Rider Dark Drive: Hyperdimension Road (Kamen Rider Drive x Hyperdimension Neptunia V).** I will see you guys in the next chapter. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	10. Chapter 10: A Trip to Forever Fall!

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the tenth chapter of OOO! Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]). Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we? Also in this chapter, it is the RWBY storyline.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

Another time, another day at class as I was listening to, yet, another one of Professor Port's stories. Seriously does this guy know that he is wasting time telling us his days than teaching? Ankh, much to his annoyance, left the classroom the moment Professor Port began his story.

Also, Ankh was now wearing a long sleeved, light gray, collared jacket with two chest pockets on both sides; the right sleeve being red that reaches to his elbow but also has small chains dangling on it. Under the jacket is a black shirt with a white cross designed on it. His pants are dark red with black stripe that runs down on both sides and wearing black shoes.

Weiss was simply filing her nails, Yang was writing on her notebook, Ruby was doodling on paper, and Blake was reading another book she had with her.

For me, well I just simply looked over my notes, studying. Yesterday, I kept noticing Jaune was hanging out with Team CRDL, which makes me wonder why he is hanging out with those bullies.

Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren have been concerned about him as well. At first I didn't know Jaune was hanging out with Team CRDL until Pyrrha told me. Not to mention, he was wearing a brown long sleeve shirt instead of his usual short sleeve shirt.

Just what happen to Jaune that made him hang out with Cardin and his cronies?

Plus, yesterday at Professor Goodwitch's class, Jaune actually won multiple duels. It was like he was a whole other person. Hell, he even beat me (without the OOO armor) at a duel. How is he fighting that well when, from Ankh's words, is a beginner?

The bell rang, getting me out of my thoughts. So I got up from my seat and walked out of the classroom.

When I walked out, Ankh noticed the rest of the students leaving. "Finally, and I thought I wouldn't stop hearing that old human's annoying stories." He said, thankful that it is over.

"Don't remind us." Team RWBY and I said in unison.

I looked back and saw Jaune as he somewhat had to go with Cardin. "Why is Jaune with that bully Cardin?" I muttered to myself as I saw him leave with Cardin while the said bully glowered at me when he noticed me.

Something tells me that Cardin is up to something but I don't know what exactly.

"You alright?" Blake asked, making me look at her.

"Yeah just been busy." I responded as I followed them. "You know how it is. Homework, training, and fighting the Yummys and Grimm."

"True." She said.

"So Yang, you still have those two Unagi medals?" I asked.

"Still do. Safe and sound from anyone else." She grinned.

"Yet they are not in my grasp." Ankh growled.

"That is because you are not being nice." Yang pointed out.

"She's got you there Ankh." I said with a chuckle. He gave me his usual glare that says 'Shut up!'. "Well I'm gonna head to the library. I still have to finish up my homework and study."

"Alright, see you later." Ruby said as I waved off and headed to the library.

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: A Trip to Forever Fall! The Gravity Combo Arrives!**

 _Pyrrha looks out the window sadly as Ren loads StormFlower and Nora Valkyrie is jumping on her bed in the room for Team JNPR._

" _How come Jaune gets home so late?" Nora asked._

 _"He's become rather scarce since he started fraternizing with Cardin." He responded as he finished loading Stormflower with its new mechanism that was made for Cell Medals._

 _"That's weird... Doesn't he know we have a field trip tomorrow? We need our rest!" she proclaims this while twirling in midair so her back hits the covers._

 _"I'm sure our leader knows exactly what he's doing." Pyrrha said, angrily._

 _Nora and Ren exchange glances, not knowing that Jaune himself is looking in through the crack of the door._

 _"Mmmm... I guess so." Nora said, still concerned._

 _Jaune hangs his head and closes the door, just as a voice interrupts his thoughts._

" _Hey, Jaune!" Ruby called out. This startled Jaune as turns around to see her in her pajamas, and she giggles at his reaction. "Long time, no see! Did you lock yourself out again?"_

 _"Oh, uh, nope!" He raises his scroll, attempting to laugh. "Got it!"_

" _So! Where have you been lately?" She asked, curious to what he has been up to._

* * *

( **3 Minutes Earlier)**

Man, all that studying made me tired. I had to go over my notes and study for almost the rest of the day. I yawned, showing that I was tired but I heard familiar voices talking. Curious, I look and saw Ruby talking to Jaune.

As I listened I heard Jaune spoke up again. "I uh…" Jaune started as he seemed to be hiding something and trying to throw her off. "I messed up. I did something I shouldn't have, and now Cardin has me on a leash, and Pyrrha won't even talk to me, and… " Jaune paused for a brief moment to allowing himself to inhale. "I'm starting to think coming to this school was a bad idea." He finished. "I'm a failure." He sighed in depression.

' _Don't think like that Jaune. You have your friends there for you.'_ I thought as a sad expression was etched on my face.

"Nope!" I heard Ruby say in what seemed to be a cutesy matter, causing Jaune to shoot his gaze right back at her.

"Nope?" Jaune inquired Ruby as he had one of his eyebrows raised up.

"Nope! You're a leader now Jaune. You're not allowed to be a failure." Ruby responded back.

I guess this is the right time to join in the conversation. "What does being a leader have to do with being forbidden to fail?" I asked, letting my presence to be known.

Both team leaders looked up to see me as I walk towards them. "Ah, Enrique, just the person who's perfect for this situation." Ruby commented. "Can you help me explain to Jaune that he's not allowed to be a failure for his team?"

I wanted to help out with cheering Jaune up, so I sat down with the two, now with the blonde sandwiched in the middle. Getting comfortable, I looked at Jaune. "Look, failure or not, every issue you have isn't just about you. There's a reason why we have teammates, partners, friends. Each of them is there to be able to support and help one another. Take the Shark Yummy attack, no pun intended, for example. Ruby and I acted as a team to beat them quickly."

I was also reminded of how it was when Ruby and I dealt with the Shark Yummys. We acted as a team in order to defeat them quickly in which it worked.

"He's right Jaune" Ruby said as she stood up. "You've got your own team now. And if we fail, then we'll just be bringing them down with us. As Enrique said, this isn't just about you. If you think like that, then you'll just be bringing your team down with you. The same was happening for me during my first day." Walking to her room across the hall, she wished the both of us good night.

I took a deep breathe, preventing sleep from taking over. "Jaune, I don't know what is going on with you but look, Ruby also proved a point, you have your team their for you and it doesn't matter if you are a failure or not." I stated. "Don't ever think you are a failure, you have your friends there for you." I showed an assured smile.

Jaune looked at me for a moment before he looked away. "Just think about what we said, okay?" I stated before getting up and headed to my dorm room to get some sleep.

* * *

 _With new energy upon hearing Ruby's and Enrique's words, Jaune pushes himself off the ground and faces the door, ready to turn the knob and face his team, but his scroll beeps and he pulls it off of his side to open it, seeing Cardin's contact relaying a message._

 _"Hey! It's your buddy Cardin! I know you're probably busy with that Dust project I gave you, buuuut I'm gonna need you to go out and get me a bag of Rapier Wasps." Jaune makes a terrified sound in response. "And make sure they've got some really big stingers! It's important, so don't screw this up!"_

 _Jaune closes his scroll just when it begins to beep again. Sighing, he wearily heads down the hallway and away from his room. But inside, he is very upset he has to go through yet another task from Cardin. Blackmailing him to do the work for him._

 _This truly upsets him inside but also the Yummy inside him is gathering all the anger that Jaune is holding up to power itself._

" _So another task from that human_ _ **?"**_ _A familiar voice called out._

 _Jaune quickly turned his head and saw Kazari in his human form. "W-what do you want now?"_

" _Hmph, just seeing how your power is doing." He lied. "I see it is doing well."_

" _Y-yeah…" Jaune lowered his head in guilt. "I still don't like this."_

" _Relax blonde, you are trying to become a hero. Isn't that what you are aiming for?" Kazari questioned. "Don't you want to prove you are not, what you quote, a 'damsel in distress'?"_

 _He slowly nodded as Kazari could sense, to his amusement, all the Cell Medals gathering inside the poor blonde. One thing is for sure, the Yummy is going to be a_ very _tough and valuable Yummy. "Remember, don't let others know about the power I given you." He reminded. "Now if you excuse me, I'll be off." He disappeared in a flash._

 _Jaune sighed before continuing with what Cardin told him to do._

* * *

Meanwhile in the mansion, Gamel, in human form, was tending to Mezool ever since her fight with the blonde four days ago. Inside, Gamel swore to get the mean blonde with lilac eyes just to make Mezool happy but she told him it is her problem to handle.

Mezool, with her loss of power, she was weak from what happened. Once she sees the blonde again, she will deal with her in a much more brutal and lethal way for what she did to her.

As they continue with what they do, Kazari walks into the room.

"Kazari, where have you been?" Uva who was in human form, questioned.

"On a Yummy business. The host is an idiot for falling into my 'deal'," he mused. "Before we know it, we will have a very valuable Yummy with endless Cell Medals for us."

Now this caught their interest. A strong Yummy giving endless medals to them. The host must have a _very_ interesting desire for Kazari to be amused.

"Yay! Medals!" Gamel cheered.

"There's something else isn't there?" Mezool weakly asked, seeing there is more to the feline Greeed's information.

"OOO might eventually find out what is going on with the host." He responded lazily as he sat down to doze off.

"I will def **eat that meanie**!" Gamel pounded his fist to his chest as he went into his Greeed form. He too wanted to get OOO for being a meanie to him and to Mezool.

"Then let us end him." Mezool insisted as she slowly got up before losing balance until Gamel got hold of her shoulders.

" **No Mezool, rest**." He pleaded as he slowly made her lay back down on the couch.

"He's right. You need rest after what that blonde brawler did to you." Uva agreed before going into his Greeed form. He placed his hand on Gamel's shoulder. " **Both of us will handle him."** He assured before walking away. ' _ **And I will get my revenge on him and that Faunus kunoichi.'**_ He growled in thought.

Despite his hate on the new OOO for taking his Core Medals, he also has a hate for that Faunus that stopped him from finishing Ankh. Not to mention delivering attacks that made him lose some of his Cell Medals.

He also learned about her semblance during that fight as well. Able to create clones much like him when he is at full power but she is limited to a certain number. She may have been a good opponent to his opinion, but he still has to get his revenge.

Gamel looked at Kazari. " **You better take care of Mezool.** " He informed before following Uva.

Kazari ignored his words as he simply dozed off on the couch. He still keeps his tracks on learning about the White Fang. Not to mention, learning on who the leader is that leads that terrorist organization. ' _It's only a matter of time.'_ He thought with amusement.

* * *

A new day began as I woke up and stretched a bit. Hearing a small pop, I got out of bed and looked up and saw Ankh snoring loudly just like at the motel. I snickered before I grabbed my Scroll and recorded _every_ single second of him snoring.

Oh this was too good to be true. I gotta show this to Ruby and the others. I saw him move his arm a bit before scratching his back and continues to sleep. That was then I remembered that today is the field trip to a place called Forever Fall. Still, I wonder why it is named that?

I then decided to hit the showers to get myself cleaned up. After that, I put on my new set of clothes. I was still wearing the same black collared jacket but I was wearing a white v-neck shirt under it and denim boot-cut jeans and black shoes with gray shoelaces.

When I walked out of the bathroom, with a new set of clothes on, I saw Ankh adjusting his shirt before noticing me. "Let's go to this so called 'field trip.'" He scoffed.

"Hey Ankh, ever heard of the place called Forever Fall?" I asked.

Just as he reached his hand to the knob of the door, he stopped for a moment. "No." He simply answered before leaving the room. I swore I heard a hint of remembrance when I said that name. Does he know that place?

Shaking my head, thinking I must be imagining things, I followed until we met up with Team RWBY and JNPR as I saw Jaune looking sad.

"Hey you guys." I waved.

"Hey Enrique." Ruby smiled. "You ready?"

I nodded as we, along with the rest of the class went into the bullhead and headed to the Forever Fall. After awhile, we made it to the location and to my very own eyes, it was truly a sight to see. I never seen a place this beautiful in my life. If there was a place like this back home, it would be an amazing place for others to see, without the Grimm of course. I watched the leaves from the red trees fall slowly to the ground. Not to mention, I noticed Ankh held his hand out as a leaf fell onto the palm of his hand. He looked somewhat calm just by staring at the trees. Does he know this place?

Professor Goodwitch looked at all of us. "Yes, students, the forest of Forever Fall is indeed beautiful. But we are not here to sightsee." she explained to us, getting me out of my thinking as we walk through the trees. "Professor Peach has asked all of you to collect samples from the trees deep inside the forest, and Professor Ankh and I are here to make sure none of you die while doing so."

Ankh scoffed knowing that he has to babysit us to make sure we don't get hurt. To him it is nothing more than another headache.

We stop, and Jaune, grunting and carrying a large case with six empty glass jars on top, tries to catch up with the rest of us and ends up bumping into Cardin. I took notice of this as I saw the bully scowl at Jaune who attempts to feign innocence by whistling. Something definitely doesn't feel right, what is Cardin up to?

Goodwitch then turned to face us as she presented a jar full of red sap. "Each of you is to gather one jar's worth of red sap. However, this forest is full of the creatures of Grimm, so be sure to stay by your teammates. We will rendezvous back here by 4 o'clock. Have fun!"

With that we went to collect the sap as I used Medajalibur to cut some openings in the trees to let some sap spill into the jar I held.

Once full, I set it to my side as I noticed Ankh sitting up on a tree branch, watching while I had to fill another jar with the red tree sap. "Enjoying the view from up there?" I asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Quiet." he said as he lays back. "I rather not sit around here long babysitting you students. It is already a headache for me as it is."

"Well from the looks of you, Ankh, you somewhat are enjoying the scenery of this place." Yang countered.

He glared at her before he scoffed and looked away, ignoring her. I sighed before handing the full jar to Blake as she sets the other jars onto the case.

Ankh whispered ominously as he eyed Jaune, "Nearly done..."

"Has anyone seen Jaune?" I asked, unaware of Ankh's statement. "Wasn't he with us a couple of minutes ago?"

"Probably being best buds with Cardin…" Pyrrha muttered as she collected some sap.

"I think what Jaune is doing is stupid. He should stand up for himself." Blake said as she handed a jar of sap to Yang, and started to fill another.

"Cardin is just another bully, Jaune needs to make something of himself and really do something for once to tell people not to mess with him." I muttered as I finished another jar.

What none of us didn't know was that we were being watched by the said bully and his cronies.

* * *

 _Now perched on a hilltop overlooking the other students, team CRDL - plus Jaune, squeezed between Cardin and Russel - peak their heads over the crest and watch as everyone is retrieving their samples of sap. Ren, kneeling to collect it from a tree, passes a full jar to Nora who looked at the jar as Ren trades it for the other jar in her care. Once he turns back to the tree and starts filling it up while he heard several sounds, he looked back and saw Nora with an embarrassed smile as her hands and smile was covered in the said sap and an empty jar in her hands._

 _Jaune turn to his left to look at Cardin. "Cardin, wh-what's going on?" he asked, nervously._

 _Still staring at the unsuspecting group sharply he answered, "Payback."_

 _Upon hearing this, Jaune's eyes widen in understanding. "Pyrrha…?" he watches her gather more sap from a tree. "Wh-What are you-?"_

 _The bully pounds his fist to the ground. "That's the girl, Red-haired know-it-all, thinks she's so smart. Alright, boys…" he pulls out a buzzing cardboard box with a large letter written on its sides. "Last night, old Jaune here managed to round up an entire box of Rapier Wasps, and now, we're gonna put him to work."_

 _Russel grabs Jaune by the shoulder, who barely laughs in nervousness._

" _Now, according to one of the essays you wrote for me last week, these nasty things loooove sweets." he recalled. "I'm thinking it's time we teach her a thing or two."_

 _The members of the team get up. Cardin offers his hand to Jaune, only to painfully yank him up on his feet and shove the jar into his grasp._

" _And you're gonna do it."_

 _"Do what?"_

" _Hit her with the sap!" He leans in close to Jaune's face, "Either that, or I'll have a chat with Goodwitch, and you'll be on the first airship out of Beacon."_

 _Jaune looks down at the jar of sap in his hands and then up at the four grinning teammates waiting to see what happens. Jaune turns towards the group and aims his throw at an oblivious and smiling Pyrrha, trying to steel his nerves and shaking hand to do the deed, but ultimately steels himself for what he's about to do._

 _"No." He muttered._

 _"What did you say?" Cardin frowned at his answer._

 _"I said..._ _ **NO**_ _!" He slammed the jar to the ground. "You are nothing but a bully Cardin! You should be the one who deserves to leave Beacon for being mean to everyone!"_

' _ **Yes… Now we're talking.'**_ _An ominous thought said as some bandages appeared on Jaune's neck._

 _Jaune's eyes glowed yellow as the others noticed it along with the sudden appearance of gray bandages on his neck._

" _Jauney Boy!?" Cardin gasped._

 _Jaune suddenly got his sword and shield ready and slashed at Cardin, leaving marks across his chestplate. Cardin saw the damage and his eyes narrowed._

" _That armor was a gift from my mom!" Cardin yelled as he took out his mace and ignited it. He brought it down on him but Jaune snarled and struck Cardin again, knocking him back and sending him crashing against the nearest tree._

" _You...villain..." Jaune growled._

" _Who are you calling a villain?" Cardin snarled in humiliation. He saw the rest of his team just staring at Jaune in shock. "What are you idiots doing!? Get him!"_

 _Jaune turned and glared at the rest of Team CRDL who froze at the sight of him as they can see a malicious aura surrounding him._

 _Cardin growled and got back up to swing his mace. He swung but Jaune blocked with his shield._

" _You think you're some kind of tough guy now!?" yelled Cardin but he received a growl in response as Jaune pushed him back and landed a kick to his chest. The other members of Team CRDL shook themselves out of their stupor and rushed Jaune. Jaune's eyes flashed as they came and he quickly charged back._

 _Dove was bashed in the face with the shield, Russell ended up knocked down by Jaune's sword and then Sky was knocked down with a kick. Cardin used this moment to sneak up on Jaune to land a brutal blow, but Jaune was able to sense his presence and turn to land several more slashes across Cardin's chest, stunning him before he knocked him down with his shield._

 _Cardin felt humiliated. This kid who was weaker than him had somehow gotten stronger. It just didn't make sense! Jaune was supposed to be lying on the ground down, beaten up, but now the tables had turned and Cardin was the one at his mercy._

 _Jaune then dropped his weapons and roared as he pounced on Cardin. The larger boy was shocked when Jaune was on top of him before he started to punch him repeatedly in the face. Cardin tried to block with his arms but Jaune's ferocity was too much for him as the blond began to leave bruises._

* * *

"Looks like the Yummy in him has matured," Ankh smirked as he looked at a certain direction.

"What?" I looked to Ankh.

"Arc. He has a Yummy in him."

"What!? How long!?"

"I've been sensing in him for awhile now."

"And you didn't tell us!?"

"And lose all those Medals? Of course not!" he argued. "Besides, the moment he first dueled all of you, that was then I sensed the Yummy. A clever Yummy if it was able to suppress its presence but dumb to show a hint of itself during those duels."

As much as I wanted to punch Ankh, Pyrrha was the one who punched Ankh across the face instead. He might be a teacher, but he had gone too far. I would have done the same thing too.

"How could you let it happen!?" Pyrrha shouted.

"How? Simple. You humans and faunus are just a pile of walking desire. You all want something so much that sometimes the consequences don't matter. Besides, why should I even care?"

"Pyrrha, it's ok. Come on, let's go find Jaune," I coaxed Pyrrha. I didn't have time to argue with Ankh, I didn't want the same thing happen to Jaune.

"Still how did Jaune get a Yummy, I mean he-"

"Kazari." Ren spoke up, never forgotten what the feline Greeed did to Nora. "He must have made Jaune a host."

"That would explain that presence I felt at the school." Ankh scoffed, "Knowing Kazari, he must have fooled that idiot into obtaining power."

"But what would Jaune desire the most?" Ruby asked.

"To be a hero," Pyrrha answered, recalling her conversation with Jaune on the roof. "He wants to live up to his family's name. That's why he came to Beacon."

"With a strong desire like that, he was basically calling out to Kazari to infect him," I agreed. "Let's stop Jaune before the Yummy consumes him."

They nodded in agreement as we ran to find Jaune and possibly Team CRDL since we last saw him being with them.

* * *

When we ran to the source, we saw Jaune as he throw the members of Team CRDL across the ground with inhuman strength. This definitely showed that a Yummy is inside him since we saw the signs of it on his neck.

"Jaune, look at me. Listen to me," Pyrrha urged as Jaune glared her. "This isn't you."

"Pyrrha...Hero..."

"That's right. You want to be a hero, but this isn't the way to go about it."

"Cardin...hurt you..."

"He tried to hurt me, did he?" Pyrrha asked.

"He… blackmailed me... he deserves to go down."

I carefully watched the scene unfold as I held my grip on Medajalibur in case things go south with this. I know when Ren tried to get Nora her senses back, it didn't work. I just hope that Jaune doesn't lose it.

"You're better than him, Jaune. He might be stronger, but the one who really has the heart to be a Huntsman is you. Jaune, you need to control yourself before that Yummy takes full control over you!" Pyrrha pleaded. She didn't want to lose him to his own desire.

"I…" He muttered before he screamed in agony. Once he stopped screaming, we saw his eyes glow yellow again, showing that the Yummy is now controlling him.

With that, Jaune charged forward but Pyrrha had no choice as she brought up her shield to block the attack and countered it with her own. "Jaune, please! I don't want to hurt you!" She pleaded. She didn't want to hurt her own teammate/leader.

Cell Medals enveloped Jaune's arms, forming a crude parody of his shield on his left arm and his sword in his right hand. He swung at Pyrrha who gasped and brought her shield up to block. He followed up his strike by kicking the shield sending Pyrrha staggering backwards.

"Jaune, please. This isn't you," Pyrrha pleaded but Jaune could no longer hear her as he threw his head back and roared. His body began to glow with a yellow aura which was not a good sign since Ren and I knew what is about to happen. Team CRDL backed away as we watched Cell Medals completely engulf Jaune's body, transforming him into a Yummy.

The Yummy, standing in Jaune's place, was a bipedal Lion with a muscular body. It was armed with a sword, shield and armor similar to Jaune, but much stronger (compared to Jaune).

Jaune was now the Lion Yummy. I may have not seen a Yummy like this in the series but this will definitely be a tough fight just by seeing how tough the Yummy looks.

I quickly got the belt on my waist as I quickly slot the King Combo and scanned them. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

I was now donned in my armor as I unsheath Medajalibur and was gonna take point. Or so I thought before I was sent flying to a tree. "Wha…" I muttered before I looked to see who did it and saw none other than Gamel. Great, now he's here of all things, he _had_ to show up.

" **I will get Mezool's Core Medals, you meanie!"** Gamel pounded his fists together.

I quickly blocked his strike but it was very strong just from the amount of force he delivered. He delivered two more punches to my chest before he lifted me up and threw me to another tree.

I slowly got up as the Core Medals revitalize my body. Just as he was gonna attack, a glyph made a small patch of ice appear under Gamel, making him slip. " **Owie** …"

I looked and saw that it was Weiss who casted the glyph.

' _Ok, let's assess the situation. Jaune's possessed by a Yummy. Now we have Gamel here who probably wants payback for the last time we fought. Hope it doesn't get any worst.'_

Just thinking of that, some trees were cut down, only to reveal the Insect Greeed, Uva. " **Looks like I found you, OOO.** " His mandibles clicked as if he had a smirk on his face. " **I will take back what is mine and have my revenge."**

Now Uva's here too!? How is that fair!? Not good, not good at all. Fighting just one Greeed to a whole lot of effort, but two at once!? I don't think my friends had ever handled these kinds of odds before.

I quickly stood back up as Team RWBY joined my side. "Are you sure you girls are ready for this?" I asked.

"Don't worry, we will be alright." Ruby assured.

"I still want payback for what Gamel did to me." Weiss responded.

" **I will enjoy cleaving you five into pieces, especially you, OOO!"** Uva roared as his claws conducted electricity before charging forward with Gamel following along as well.

"Let's do this!" I shouted as the five of us split into groups. Blake and I charge towards Uva while Weiss, Ruby, and Yang handle Gamel as the team's weapons were powered with Core Energy. Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren are still dealing with the Lion Yummy.

As I buckled from the amount of force that Uva delivered from his attack, Blake jumped on my shoulder before she used Gambol Shroud to deliver a strike on Uva's shoulder before delivering an enhanced kick, making him stagger back a bit.

" **You insolent wench! You will pay for that especially for stopping me from killing Ankh!"** He roared as his horns were charging up for an attack before using it towards Blake.

She used her semblance, causing her clone to take the attack instead as an icy mist occurred upon contact.

" **Again?!** " He growled, annoyed that Blake used her semblance.

He then felt something wrap around his neck, trying to somewhat choke him. He looked back and saw Blake as she tries to pull him down.

" **Not this time!"**

Just as he was gonna swing her around, I took this chance as I used Batta Legs to kick his chest before delivering a strike diagonally, causing Cell medals to spill from his wounds.

Now enraged, Uva slashed my chest multiple times on my chest before he sent me to the ground. He looked back as he wrap his arm around the ribbon before pulling Blake towards him and punched her in the gut, making her gasp for air and sent her to a tree.

"Blake!" I frantically ran to her. "Blake are you okay?!"

"I-I'm alright…" She said, regaining her breath as we both got up. I sighed in relief that she was okay but Uva is not willing to let any of us to escape alive. Even with the Core Medals revitalizing my body, I can still feel pain under the armor.

We looked back as we saw that Uva was gonna get ready to finish the both of us by using his horns.

" **I am gonna enj-"** he stopped as if something hit him. " **W-What…"**

He slowly looked back and we saw Ankh with his Greeed arm inside Uva's back. "You left an opening, Uva. You really are a stubborn one as always." He smirked.

He pulled away as a Kuwagata Core Medal was in hand. We were now able to use two Full Combos: RaToraTah and GataKiriBa.

Even though Uva still has his chest armor, we could tell he lost some power in him. " **You traitorous bird…!"** He growled as Blake and I were got up with our weapons at the ready, prepares for round two.

( **With Ruby, Weiss, and Yang…)**

Ruby, Weiss and Yang were facing down Gamel as he blocked Yang's punch as well as Ruby's and Weiss' strikes as well.

Pushing them back, Gamel went after Yang and attempted to strike her as the said brawler dodges it. No doubt that he can sense something that Yang is holding onto. " **Give me Mezool's medals, you yellow meanie!"** He demanded in a childish manner.

"No way! I rather not lose them to you, big guy!" Yang protested as she punched Gamel back with some cell medals spilling from his body.

" **I'm telling Mezool!"** He cried out. Now he wanted to hurt the blonde meanie now. Not only she hurt Mezool but now she hurt him. He punched her in which it sent her next to Ruby and Weiss but not only that, Yang saw two familiar objects land in front of Gamel.

"Oh great." Yang muttered when she didn't felt the two items in her pockets anymore.

Gamel picked up the two coins and saw what they were. " **Yay! I found Mezool's medals!"** He cheered in happiness. He can't wait to give them back to Mezool and see her happy again.

"He really does have a mind of a child." Weiss growled. "Ankh's right; No matter what we try, he keeps countering them like it is a game to him."

"Weiss, that's it!" Ruby said, realizing something.

"What?"

"He treats everything like a game, due to his child-like mind, right?" Ruby reminded. "Then let's play a game!" This made the two realize where she is getting at.

"Let's hope this works then."

"Hey Gamel! Do you want to play a game?" Ruby asked.

" **Ooooh! I like games!"** Gamel clapped, unaware that he is actually being tricked on.

"How about a game of tag!" Ruby suggested.

The other two sweatdropped. ' _Is she that serious?!'_

" **Tag? I like playing tag!"** He cheered.

"Try to catch me then!" She smiled before using her semblance to run around the Beast Greeed.

Gamel tried to grab her but she kept running around and around. He began spinning around, trying to locate the red-hooded girl but couldn't as he began to feel dizzy. " **My eyes…** " He started. " **Getting too dizzy!"**

He was truly dizzy as he tries to get his balance as well as his senses together. Ruby's plan actually worked on fooling the child-minded Greeed. "Now!"

Weiss used her newly repaired Myrtenaster as it struck the Greeed in the gut with Yang delivering a suckerpunch to his face, sending him back a bit. Weiss on the other hand charged once more as Gamel recollected his senses only to see Weiss up close.

"Take this!" She exclaimed as she used her Ice enhanced weapon to pierce Gamel's gut before setting it with fire dust, causing a small explosion.

"Weiss!" Ruby and Yang frantically called out as they saw her being sent flying across the ground. They ran to her as Ruby shook her shoulders. "Weiss! Weiss, please get up!" She pleaded.

Weiss slowly opened her eyes as a grin was etched on her face. "I'm alright you two, besides…" She slowly opened her hand, only to reveal three Core Medals in her grasp; they belonged to Gamel.

"You clever princess." Yang grinned as she helped her up.

" **WAAAHHHH, my cores!"** He cried as his armored legs collapsed into cell Medals, revealing them to be black, tattered bandages wrapped around his legs. He got back up as he ran away while crying, " **MEZOOL!"**

"That will show him." Weiss smirked. At least the Greeed got what he deserves for trying to kill her back then.

* * *

 **(2 Minutes Earlier…)**

Blake and I continued our defensive strategy as Uva's was trying to go for the Batta crest on my armor.

Blake defended me as she shot Uva multiple times before he looked back and used his electricity attack onto a tree, causing it to collapse in front of her.

Just as I was about to strike him again, Uva used his clawed forearm to trap my Medajalibur between his blades before he threw my sword aside and delivered multiple strikes onto my armor. "Gah!" I exclaimed in pain as I fell to the ground. He picked me up once more and kicked me back.

" **I won't lose to a weak being like you, OOO. You may have won the fight before but this time…"** He showed his claw as he got hold of my neck with his other arm, clenching my neck tightly making me gasp for air. " **You will die and I will get back my Core Medals."**

As he was about to deliver the killing blow, we heard a cry. " **MEZOOL!** " The voice cried.

It was Gamel as he was running away but he bumped into Uva, causing him to release me as the two Greeed were piled up. " **You idiot!"** Uva growled as he pushed him aside. I took notice of Gamel's legs as Blake helped me up while I try to regain my breath. Did Ruby, Weiss, and Yang actually got Gamel's Core Medals?

I soon took notice that Ruby, Weiss, and Yang joined as they were ready to fight again due to Gamel's state and Uva who only has one core in him now.

He looked at us before looking at Ganel then at us again. " **Grr… You haven't seen the last of us!"** He vowed before helping Gamel up and the two retreated.

"That was close…" I coughed before looking at Ruby, Weiss, and Yang. "Did you three actually take Gamel's medals?"

"Yep but Yang lost the two blue Core Medals that she held onto." Ruby answered.

"Should have gave them to me." Ankh scoffed.

"Hey!" Yang exclaimed with a tick mark on her head.

"Which Core Medals did you get?" I asked.

Weiss handed them to me only for my eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates. It was Sai, Gorilla, and Zou! She got the Medals needed for a Full Combo!

"Weiss, this is full combo set!" I exclaimed. "Way to go you three!"

They smiled upon the praise until we heard more gunshots, making us remember the Lion Yummy that Jaune is trapped in. "Let's go!"

They nodded as we ran as fast as we can to meet up with Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora. Once we saw them, they were fighting at their best. I was about to grab the O-Scanner to do the finisher until I remembered that Jaune is still inside the Yummy.

If I used my finisher on the Lion Yummy, I would risk killing Jaune as well. We needed to get him out first.

"Pyrrha! We need to get Jaune out of that Yummy!" I reminded. "It is the only way before he gets consumed!" Even with Cheetah, I don't think I could get through the heavy armor that the Yummy is covered in.

Before we could take point, I saw Pyrrha's hand covered in some type of glow as she suddenly made the sword that the Yummy held float out of its grasp.

"She is using her semblance." Ankh said.

With effort, she made the sword cut through the Yummy's exposed skin, causing an opening with cell medals spilling out.

Again, Pyrrha used her semblance at the clusters, leaving an opportunity for her. Her semblance must be a way of magnetism and since the cell medals are metal, it gives her the chance to leave an opening. Pyrrha then plunged her hands into the Lion Yummy and grabbed hold of Jaune's hand.

"Pyrrha!" Jaune cried out.

"I'm...not...letting you go!" Pyrrha yelled. Nora and Ren joined as they also took Jaune's hand and pulled as hard as they could. The Lion Yummy reeled backwards as Jaune was pulled before the blonde landed on the ground with his friends.

"Jaune, are you okay?!" She frantically asked.

"I'm… Okay… This is my fault." He weakly said.

"It's not your fault. It will be okay, Jaune." She said calmly as Jaune passed out.

" **I am the strongest here! I will not lose to any of you!"** The Yummy roared as he grabbed his sword out of the tree.

The strongest, wait, maybe I can use it. I looked at the three gray Core Medals but Ankh got hold of my wrist. "Don't; I know what you are thinking."

I pulled my arm away from him. "This may be the only way to beat this Yummy. Either that or no Cell Medals for you and the Kougami Foundation."

As Ankh was about to speak up, he growled when I proved a point. "Fine." He scoffed as I stood in front of my friends.

"Here goes." I said, despite my condition that I am enduring. I switched the King Combo with Gamel's Core Medals and scanned them.

 **SAI!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **ZOU!**

 **SAGOZO... SAGOZO!**

Now I was instantly donned in armor with my helmet being white with red visor eyes but had a 'horn' going up on my helmet; my arms and shoulder pads were silver and black with two tough-looking gauntlets were on my arms, and the armor on my legs had the shape of an elephant. This was the all-black, grey, and white armor of the SaGoZo Combo, aka the Gravity Combo.

 **(Cue SaGoZo Combo - Sun Goes Up)**

Holy crap!

Is this the amount of strength that Gamel would have when he is at full power!? Man and I thought Kazari's power was awesome! I feel like I can lift a freaking 16-wheeler truck or even a tank! This strength might make even the strongest fighter on Remnant look bad.

This is so cool! Now time to show the Yummy who is the toughest around here!

"Enrique's armor looks like a Grimm!?" Ruby and Weiss shrieked.

"Not exactly, that combo is the Gravity Combo." Ankh then held his ground, ready for what is about to happen as the others notice.

Now there eyes widen to the size of dinner plates in realization as I began to pound my armored chest. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I bellowed as a gray surge of energy began to emanate in front of me with every beat to my chest. Each impact brought out a shockwave of grey power which passed over the area.

Just as the Yummy was gonna attack, he felt the change of pressure, causing him to kneel. " **What is this!"**

I ignored his question as I continue to pound my chest armor with the gravity changing again. Now the Yummy felt like it was being lifted into the air.

" **Get me down! Get me down!"** It exclaimed waving its arms frantically.

I stopped pounding my chest as this caused the Yummy to fall into the ground before I charged forward. When it took notice of me, it was about to bash my face with its shield, only for my Sai Helm to make it feel like a mere touch.

I got hold of the Yummy before I delivered a much more brutal headbutt, causing cell medals to spill from its head.

"Talk about a splitting headache, right?" Yang grinned.

"Not now, Yang!" The others exclaimed.

Once it staggered back, I punched the Yummy as the Gorilla Arm's power were enhanced due to the full combo, causing the armor on the Yummy to receive dents. "Who's the toughest now?" I questioned the Yummy.

" **I am suppose to be the toughest one here!"** He protested as it tried to strike my armor but I stomped the ground, causing a minor tremor but made the Yummy lose its balance. With that, I once again used Gorilla arms and delivered an uppercut and then punched it once more, sending it back.

"Let's finish this!" I declared as I scanned the Buckle.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

I manipulated the gravity to lift myself into the air before I went to the ground with a powerful stomp. The ground cracked and broke before the pieces and cracks moved towards the Yummy. The cracks and pieces soon caught it and the Lion Yummy sank like quicksand resulting with its feet trapped into the ground, unable to escape.

The reformed ground around the Yummy then started coming back to me, bringing the Lion Yummy back with it. I brought back my head and hands, making them glow really bright, knowing what to do next.

I then performed a very powerful double handed punch and headbutt at the same time. This caused the Yummy to explode into Cell Medals as Ankh, in his Greeed arm form, began to collect his share.

( **End Song)**

With the Yummy gone, I looked at Team CRDL and approached them. The look on their faces, seeing what I had done somewhat frighten them or probably the fact that my armor reminds them of the Grimm. I stared at them for a moment, ignoring the effects of the finisher and the pain I received from Uva. As much as I wanted to punch the bully for making Jaune do the work for him as well as those beatings he and his cronies gave me, I simply reached my hand out to him.

He looked at me for a moment before he got hold and I lifted him up.

"Thanks." He said.

"I'm only gonna say this once, Cardin." I sternly said. "Don't _ever_ mess with me, Jaune, or my friends _ever_ again especially to the Faunus. Got it?"

He looked intimidated, somewhat apologetic before he quickly nodded as he and his cronies quickly left. I slowly reached for the buckle and managed to tilt it back with the remaining strength I can muster before dispelling the armor.

After that everything went black the moment I reverted back to civilian form.

* * *

 _Blake caught Enrique's body as he collapsed and gently laid him down to rest._

" _Is this going to keep happening each time he uses a Full Combo?" Weiss asked with slight irritation._

" _Once he adapts to its power, he won't have troubles like this." Ankh responded as he grabbed the Sai, Gorilla, and Zou medals from the buckle. 'Able to withstand RaToraTah and now SaGoZo, he is certainly full of wonders.'_

 _He noticed the time on his Scroll getting close to 4. "Let's regroup with Goodwitch and head back to that academy." He said._

 _Team RWBY, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren nodded as Blake and Ruby helped Enrique up while Pyrrha and Ren help Jaune as they all headed to the bullhead._

 _Once there, Goodwitch demanded they tell her what happened. They explained the Greeed/Yummy attack along with Enrique using another full combo. Upon hearing this, Goodwitch pardoned them, giving them relief but also they had to take Jaune and Enrique to the infirmary to rest_.

* * *

By the time I awoke, I was hearing faint voices again. Once I gained consciousness, I saw that I was once again back in the infirmary.

"You're awake!" Ruby said in glee.

I looked and saw Team RWBY in their uniforms as I rubbed the side of my head. "How long was I out?" I asked.

"It's already nighttime, so you were out for a while. Jaune recovered before you did and Ankh is at the dorm room resting." Blake responded

"How's Jaune anyway after he recovered?"

"He's alright. He was thankful and glad that Pyrrha, Ren, and Nora got him out of that Yummy," Yang answered.

"At least he's alright." I smiled. "Oh, I almost forgot." I began to dig through my pockets.

"What?"

Once I felt the scroll, I pulled it out of my pocket. "Check this out." I snickered as I played the video of Ankh snoring.

They watched before we all began to laugh. "Is that how Ankh sleeps? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Yang laughed as she fell off the chair.

"And I thought he sleeps quietly for the bird he is." Weiss laughed.

Ruby and Blake were laughing as well. Come on, who wouldn't laugh at a scene like that?

"You gotta show that to Jaune and the others tomorrow." Ruby insisted as she laughed. "I bet they will laugh once they watch that."

"Good idea." I grinned. I looked at Blake as I gave her a kind smile, showing my thanks for helping me. She returned the smile with her own.

At least today was somewhat a good day. Jaune was saved from being consumed by a Yummy, we got another full combo set, and we hopefully won't have to worry about Cardin and his cronies bullying anyone again. I really do have good friends to be with. It really does feel nice to have friends.

* * *

 _At the mansion, Gamel had to stay in his human form due to his loss of core medals from the snow girl. But he got two of Mezool's core medals in return, making him happy that Mezool will feel better._

" _Gamel what happened?" Mezool asked, sensing his loss of power._

" _Those meanies and OOO took my cores." He replied. "Snow girl hurt me." He then presented two Unagi Medals. "But I found two of your Medals."_

 _Mezool smiled upon seeing the Core Medals. She slowly got up as Gamel handed her the two Unagi Medals. She then placed the two trinkets onto her chest, absorbing them as she felt some of her power and energy return._

 _She got up and rubbed Gamel's head. "That's my Gamel." She cooed._

" _Hehehehe." He giggled bashfully, seeing Mezool better. He didn't care that he got hurt now, he was happy that Mezool feels better._

 _For Uva, he smashed a bottle of wine to the ground, in fury. If it wasn't for the child-minded Greeed, he would have decapitated the new OOO and took back the Core Medals. However, something clicked; the Faunus kunoichi. He sensed the desire she was brimmed with during the fight as well as the fight when she stopped him from killing Ankh. Oh, the desire she has for the Faunus wench she is._

" _You will get what you desire, you faunus wench." He grinned evilly as he looked at a cell medal in his hand._

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Tako (x2)**

 **Sai (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

 **Zou (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"The Vytal Festival! Oh this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss smiled as she clasped her hands together.

"So you're actually a Faunus." I said as I saw the cat ears on her.

" **A desire like yours suits perfect for a Yummy."** Uva mused before inserting a Cell Medal into Blake.

 **Next Time: A Faunus Among Us?**

* * *

 **A/N:** I hoped you guys enjoyed the chapter as well as the introduction of the Gravity Combo. Also, to let all of you know, I will also introduce the BuraKaWani in the story as well but can't tell you when though. Anyways, I will see you all in the next chapter. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	11. Chapter 11: A Faunus Among Us?

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the eleventh chapter of OOO! Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]). Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we? And in this chapter, this is the end of the RWBY volume one arc.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

It was a Friday and I was sitting on the bed, reading a book. Ankh was going over the Core Medals we currently have knowing that we now have three full combos. Not to mention, the first semester is ending.

I looked at the calendar and saw the day saying it is Friday. ' _To think that I have been here for awhile.'_ I thought with a smile. From what I learned, once the semester ends there is no class for a week which gives me time to train harder and for Ankh…

"Finally, I won't have to deal with teaching those humans." He said when he looked at the calendar as well, relieved that he won't have a headache from all that.

"Only for a week." I pointed out as I flipped a page. "Plus it will give me more time to train."

"At least you are improving…" He muttered.

"What was that?" I asked, swore that I heard him say something.

"None of your business." He sternly said.

"Okay?" I said before I continued to read.

Still, a lot has happened for me for the past semester since I came to Remnant and being enrolled in Beacon. I became OOO, meeting Ankh, Ruby, Blake, Yang, Weiss, Team JNPR, and Team CFVY. I couldn't help but smile knowing that I met good people (don't know about Ankh) and became friends with them.

Maybe being in Remnant is not all that bad. As I was reading, I heard a knock on the door. Curious to who is here, I got up from my bed before walking to the door and opened it, only to see Team RWBY. "Hey you four."

"Hey Enrique, we were wondering if you wanna tag along since Weiss was thinking of strolling around Vale." Ruby wondered.

I looked back at Ankh who was busy on his Scroll. "You can go on ahead, I rather have peace and quiet than go with you five." Ankh said, not averting his eyes from the Scroll.

I shrugged before I checked my pockets and I felt the King Combo, OOO Driver, and some Cell medals in case anything happens. "Alright, let's go." I said as Team RWBY and I headed out to Vale.

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 11: A Faunus Among Us?**

We were in Vale as we saw it was being decorated in time for the Vytal Festival that Ruby told me about. The Vytal Festival is an international festival in Remnant held every two years, where the various cultures of this world are celebrated with dances, parades and a combat tournament. The hosts of the festival rotate for each festival, with the host opening its borders to visitors from the other kingdoms. To me, it sounds very interesting to hear something like this.

We saw red, yellow, and green streamers and balloons that are proudly on display as we were strolling through it all with an awed Weiss in the front.

A sign was being put up by the elderly Shopkeeper that reads in bright red letters 'WELCOME TO VALE!'

"The Vytal Festival! Oh this is absolutely wonderful!" Weiss smiled as she clasped her hands together.

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile this much Weiss. It's kinda weirding me out..." Ruby said as she has a worried expression on her face.

"I agree with you." I agreed with Ruby's statement. I never seen her smile this much either.

"How could you not smile? A festival dedicated to the cultures of the world! There will be dances, parades, a tournament! Oh the amount of planning and organization that goes into this event is simply breathtaking." Weiss continued.

Yang sighed and replied, "You really know how to take a good thing and make it sound boring." Weiss looked over at her.

"Quiet you!"

"Remind me again why we are spending our Friday afternoon visiting the stupid docks?" Yang asked as we walked over to the railings of the docks.

"Ugh, they smell like fish." Ruby held her nose and said, probably regretting that she sniffed the ocean air.

"I've heard that students visiting from Vacuo will be arriving by ship today. And as a representative of Beacon, I feel as if it is my solemn duty to welcome them to this fine kingdom." Weiss said as we started to walk again.

"She wants to spy on them so she'll have the upperhand in the tournament." Blake nonchalantly said.

"That kinda sounds like she will be cheating then." I added.

"Uh, you can't prove that." Weiss scoffed, crossing her arms in defense.

"Whatever you say." I shrugged.

Ruby looked over into the city. "Woah." She noticed there was a robbery that happened because of all the police tape. The girls and I walked up to the two police officers that were investigating. "What happened here?" Ruby asked them.

"Robbery, second dust shop to be hit this week, this place is turning into a jungle..." The first officer said, walking to his partner.

"Ugh...that's terrible." Yang placed a hand on her hip.

"At least it wasn't the Greeed or Yummy." I said in relief. The Greeed and Yummy already caused damage to the city 2 months ago due to Gamel. Thankfully it was repaired a couple of days after that incident.

"They left all the money again." The second officer told the first one.

"Ehh, just doesn't make a lick of sense. Who needs that much dust?" The first one looked over and asked the second one.

"I dunno, an army?" He replied.

"You thinkin' uh, White Fang?" The first one asked again.

The second one took off his sunglasses and replied, "Yeah, I'm thinkin' we don't get paid enough."

"Hm. The White Fang, what an awful bunch of degenerates." Weiss folded her arms and proclaimed.

Blake turned to her and asked, "What's your problem?"

"My problem? I simply don't care for the criminally insane." Weiss shrugged her shoulders.

"The White Fang is hardly a bunch of Psychopaths. They're a collection of misguided Faunus." Blake explained.

"Misguided? They want to wipe humanity off the face of the planet." Weiss argued.

"Then they're _very_ misguided. Either way, it doesn't explain why they would rob a dust shop in the middle of downtown Vale."

"Blake's got a point. Besides, the police never caught that Torchwick guy I ran into a few months ago, maybe it was him?" Ruby said as they continued to watch the police work.

"That still doesn't change the fact that the White Fang are a bunch of scum. Those Faunus only know how to lie, cheat, and steal," Weiss said.

"That's not necessarily true." I argued. "They are not like that, Weiss. Take Velvet for example; she's a Faunus yet she isn't with the White Fang."

She was gonna speak up to counter my statement before she huffed and turned her head away from me.

I had a grin etched on my face until we heard a voice shout, "Hey, stop that Faunus!" Someone yelled over by the boats. Wondering what is going on, we ran over to the railings to see what the commotion what about.

* * *

When we got there, we saw a tan-skinned boy with short spiky light-blonde hair and dark-gray eyes. He wears two red wrist bracers and an open loose-collared white jacket with no shirt underneath, displaying his muscular physique. Talk about showing off.

He also wears blue cargo pants tied up with a white belt. He wears white bandages on his legs and has a chain hanging from the belt loop on the right side of his pants.

He sports black and yellow sneakers and wears a twisted golden necklace around his neck, with a round pendant bearing his monkey emblem. He also has a long prehensile monkey tail the same color as his hair. This shows he is a Faunus, a monkey Faunus to be exact due to the tail.

He was being chased on the deck of a boat until he hopped onto the railing. "Thanks for the ride guys, heh heh." He hopped down to the docks and continued running.

"You no good stow-away!" One of the guys on the ship yelled at the Faunus.

He was hanging on a lamp post by his tail, peeling a banana. "Hey, a no good stow-away would've been caught, I'm a great stow-away." The Faunus boy replied to the two that were on the ship. A rock came flying at him and he leaned to another direction to dodge it.

"Hey! Get down from there this instant." First cop that was investigating the dust robbery said. A banana peel was thrown at his face, and he growled.

The Faunus boy lifted himself up onto the rail of the post and laughed, then he jumped back down onto the docks and continued to run away from the cops. He turned up the stairs and sprinted in our direction. Once he got close, I swore I saw him wink at Blake before he sped past us.

Why do I have this strange feeling I should tell him to back off? I shook that thought out of my head, thinking it was probably nothing.

"Well Weiss, you wanted to see the competition, and there it goes." Yang said as she watched the police chase after the boy.

"Quick, we have to observe him!" Weiss proclaimed. The five of us started to run after them.

As we continue our chase, we round the corner but then Weiss bumps into someone and trips. She looks up as we saw the Faunus guy disappear from our view, showing that he got away. "No, he got away!"

"Uhh… Weiss?" Yang pointed at the girl that Weiss bumped into.

Lying on the ground was a girl with short, curly orange hair with freckles on her face. Basically, a ginger. She was also wearing clothes that were part futuristic and part old-fashioned. She wore a blouse with feminine overalls, with a black collar and matching stockings, both decorated with green lines. She also wore a pink bow in her hair. On her back was a small backpack.

"Are you alright, miss?" I asked politely as I reached a hand to her to help her up.

"I'm fine," she said.

"Don't you want to get up?" I asked further.

"Oh, alright." She got up on her own.

"Um...hi?"

"Salutations!"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Yang asked.

"I'm wonderful! Thank you for asking." She said with a smile. "My name is Penny, it's nice to meet you all!"

"Hi Penny, I'm Ruby."

"The name's Enrique." I introduced myself.

"Weiss."

"Blake."

"Are you sure you didn't hit your head or something?" Yang asked her. Blake smacked Yang's head for asking that question. "Oh, I'm Yang."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Penny repeated.

"You already said that." I pointed out.

"So I did." She said.

"Well sorry for running into you." Weiss said as the five of us turned around to walk away. To be honest that Penny girl is… Strange?

"Take care, friend." Ruby said to her before she turned around.

We wondered a few feet before Yang spoke up. "She was...weird."

"Now, where did that Faunus rif-raf run off to?" Weiss asked out loud. We all stopped because the strange girl; Penny, appeared out of nowhere.

"What did you call me?" She said to them.

Weiss was repeatedly looking back and forth as to see how the heck she did that. Hell even I was wondering how she got here that quick. "Oh, I'm really sorry, I definitely didn't think you heard me." Yang apologized, but Penny had another reason as to why she asked them that. "No, not you." She approached Ruby. "You". Penny specifically pointed at Ruby.

"Me? I-uh, I dunno, I-what I, um, uhh-"

"You called me friend, am I really your friend? Penny asked.

"Uhmmmmm…" Ruby looked over at us as Yang, Blake and Weiss shook their heads, saying 'no'. For me, I just shrugged, telling her it is her choice.

"Yeah, sure why not?" Ruby answered with a half-smile.

The other four were looking at her as if she made a horrible decision, which she sorta did, and fake fainted. I looked at the four before looking back at Ruby and Penny.

"Sensational! We can paint our nails..." Penny continued to ramble on about girl stuff.

"Oh, is this what it was like when you met me?" Ruby groaned to Weiss as she brush herself off.

"No - she seems far more coordinated." She replied.

"So... what are you doing in Vale?" Asked Yang, feeling curious.

"I'm here to fight in the tournament." Penny answered.

"Wait, you're fighting in the tournament?"

"I'm combat ready!" She saluted.

"Forgive me, but you hardly look the part."

"Says the girl wearing a dress."

Weiss crossed her arms. "It's a combat skirt!

Ruby speeds over to Weiss' side and said, "Yeah!" Weiss holds out her hand and Ruby low-fives it.

Weiss then realized something "Wait a minute." She walks over to Penny and grabs her by the shoulders. "If you're here for the tournament, does that mean you know that monkey-tailed... rapscallion?"

"The who...?" She asked, confused.

Weiss holding up a poor drawing of the 'criminal-in-question' "The filthy Faunus from the boat!"

"Why do you keep saying that?!" Blake asked, upset

Weiss turned her attention from Penny to Blake. "Huh?"

Blake walks over to Weiss, angry. "Stop calling him a rapscallion! Stop calling him a degenerate! He's a person!"

"Oh, I'm sorry." She releases Penny and motions to objects around her. "Would you like me to stop referring to the trash can as a trash can? Or this lamppost as a lamppost?"

"Stop it!" She demanded.

"Stop what? He clearly broke the law. Give him time; he'll probably join up with those other Faunus in the White Fang!"

"You ignorant little brat!" Blake growled.

Weiss looks offended, but when Blake walks away, she follows. "How dare you talk to me like that! I am your teammate!"

"You are a judgmental little girl."

"What in the world makes you say that?"

"The mere fact that you would sort that Faunus boy with a terrorist group solely based on his species makes you just as much of a scoundrel as you believe him to be!"

"Uhh, I think we should probably go..." Yang told Ruby and I.

Penny popped up behind Ruby, smiling. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"So you admit it! The White Fang is just a radical group of terrorists!" Weiss said.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Blake argued.

* * *

The argument continued on as I was in their dorm room, listening to Weiss and Blake argue. I could hear Ankh getting pissed due to the loud argument between the two here.

"I don't understand why this is causing such a problem." Weiss said to Blake, who was sitting in her bed across from Weiss.

"That is the problem." Blake said to Weiss.

"You realize you are defending an organization that hates humanity don't you? The Faunus of the White Fang are pure evil."

"There's no such thing as pure evil! Why do you think they hate humanity so much? It's because of people like Cardin, people like you that force the White Fang to take such drastic measures."

"People like me?!"

"You're discriminatory!" Blake shouted at Weiss to her face.

"I'm a victim!" Weiss shouted back. The room got quiet. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? Why I don't particularly trust the Faunus? It's because they've been at war with my family for years. War, as in actual bloodshed..." She continued. "My grandfather's company has had a target painted across its back for as long as I can remember. And ever since I was a child, I've watched family friends disappear; board members executed; an entire train car full of Dust, stolen. And every day, my father would come home, furious. And that made for a very difficult childhood." She bangs her fist on the bookshelf.

My eyes soften from this. Her life sounds much more rough than my life. Ruby goes over to Weiss to comfort her. "Weiss, I…"

"No!" She turns away and walks back over to Blake. "You want to know why I despise the White Fang? It's because they're a bunch of liars, thieves, and murderers!"

"Well maybe _we_ were just tired of being pushed around!" She screamed but left us surprised.

Silence drops down again. A surprised Weiss backs away slowly, and Blake realizes her mistake as she looks at each of us including me.

"I-I..." Blake tried to get something out, but she turned for the door and sprinted out as fast as she could.

"Blake, wait! Come back!" Ruby runs over to the door and calls to her down the hallway as Yang sits herself down and Weiss looks down.

As much as I wanted to scold Weiss, I just got up and went to find Blake.

* * *

After looking around, I found Blake looking at the statue. I watched as she reached up at her bow and slowly undid it, revealing a pair of cat ears. This caught me by surprised. No wonder her bow twitches, the sound of purring from 2 months ago, and the eyes. Blake was a Faunus.

"So you're actually a Faunus." I said as I saw the cat ears on her.

Blake quickly turned around and saw me. "Are you here just to berate me?" She asked.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I am a Faunus…" She muttered.

I sighed. "Blake, I don't care if you are a Faunus. You are my friend." I stated before looking at the shattered moon. "Let me tell you a story. There was a little kid, he was always a cheerful person when it comes to family especially to his father." I started. "He looked up to him so much that it was a strong bond between father and son. However as he heard about the death of his father, he felt something in him vanish; a void in his heart and mind."

"He became depressed, vulnerable to bullies." I continued. "Calling him names like soldier boy, weakling, or the weak link. Some gave him beatings, even sending him to the hospital at one point." I looked down. "He continued to endure all that as the years go by even with his only friend, he still endures it. Even though he shows his cheerful face, it is only a mask to hide his tearful, sad, pained expression from what happened to him. Then he lost everything on the same day he lost his father, leaving him all alone. Nothing but the life he has to endure; an orphan who was watched over by his family's close friend." I finished before I looked at Blake.

"All that happened to you?"

I nodded.

"How could you cope with all that?"

"By taking one small step at a time. I may have lost everything and been bullied but I can still help others see that they should cherish with what they have." I answered.

"Even if you are a Faunus, it doesn't show who you are, it is what is inside that truly defines who you really are. Faunus or human, you are still the same, bookworm, calm girl that I became friends with and enjoy hanging out with." I smiled, showing my kindness. "And the lesson from the story is that everyone is the same person no matter who or what they are. If I was a Faunus, I would still be the same person just with a Faunus heritage and that shows being either Faunus of human, you are you. And I see you not as a Faunus but a normal girl who helped me, Ruby, Yang, and even Ankh (He won't admit it though)."

Her eyes welled up in moisture as a smile graced her lips.

"If you want to get away for a while, I won't say anything. I'll just tell the others that I couldn't find you, okay?" I turned around to walk away before stopping to tell her my last words. "To be honest… you do look cute with the cat ears." I admitted with a blush coming up before heading back into the school.

* * *

 _Blake turned around to look at Enrique, only to see him already heading inside the school. She wanted to thank him but she would the next time she sees him. He treats her like a normal person, Faunus or not, he sees her as herself. She then looked back at the statue before hearing footsteps, in which she turned to see a man with slicked back green hair, wearing a green jacket and a black shirt, black trousers and sneakers._

 _The man approached Blake in his human form, "So, you're now completely alone."_

" _Who are you?" questioned Blake._

" _Oh, right. You don't recognize me. How about now?" Uva's body become covered by Cell Medals as he morphed into his true form. Blake's eyes widened as she drew Gambol Shroud to defend herself but Uva zapped her hand with lightning, instantly disarming her._

" _What do you want?" Blake demanded. If she could get her Scroll, she would, but she had left it back in the dorm room._

" _ **It's not what I want, little Faunus. It's what you desire**_ _," Uva spoke as he approached Blake who backed away in fear. "_ _ **You see, there is something you desire and it will be perfect for me."**_

" _I won't let you use me to make a Yummy."_

" _ **Consent has nothing to do with it**_ _," Uva told her as he held a Cell Medal to her forehead. A metal slot appeared in the centre of her forehead as she froze before he tossed the Cell Medal inside. A black portal formed behind Blake's back and a Yummy crawled out of it before standing behind her._

" _ **What you desire will bring me what I aim and for you to see what your desire brings forth and causes."**_ _Uva's stated with an evil 'grin.'_

 _Blake gasped and saw that she was all alone. She also saw she still had Gambol Shroud sheathed. She shook her head quickly thinking that seeing Uva was some sort of sudden nightmare knowing that he nearly killed her back in Forever Fall._

 _She looked back at the statue when she heard a voice._

" _I knew you would look better without a bow."_

* * *

When I came back to Team RWBY's dorm, I sat on the chair that was by their desk as I had my arms crossed, glaring at Weiss. "What do you have to say for yourself, Weiss?" I questioned.

"Why should I?" she huffed. "She admitted she was with that filthy group."

I glared at Weiss and asked, "How long has she been on our team?"

"What does that have to do-?"

"How long?" I repeated.

"Since initiation."

"Exactly, and you said it yourself, the White Fang has always come after your family and members of your father's company."

"So what's your point?"

"How many chances did Blake have to kill you? You all slept in the same room together! She would have poisoned your meals! If she was still with the White Fang, she would've already killed you and left!"

"Why are you defending her?" She questioned.

"Because she's my friend and she's risked her life for me more times than I can count." I recalled the time she helped me beat the Bison Yummy, stopped Gamel from ending me, even saved me from Uva back at Forever Fall. "A White Fang member wouldn't care about humans, would they? So, before you judge her as guilty, take a moment to listen and think."

This made Weiss quiet as she looks over what I said.

"True, the White Fang brought you grief but they were driven to do that by humans. They fight back and then cause more humans to fear and hate the Faunus. It's a never-ending cycle of violence and both sides are to blame, but both sides can stop it." I continued. "You and Blake, you're like two sides of the same coin. She probably suffered because of humans you suffered because of the White Fang."

"Looks like you four have finally realized her identity." A familiar voice said.

We all turned to the door and saw Ankh. "Ankh, what are you talking about?" I asked.

Ankh scoffed, thinking I just asked a stupid question. "She may be a Faunus but she is also has desires of her own." He said before a smirk appeared on his lips. "Uva was here as well. I sensed a Yummy born from her."

I knew there was no point arguing with Ankh. All he cared about was Cell Medals. At the very least, he can point us in the right direction.

"A Yummy doesn't stray too far from its host either." Ankh added. "Now what kind of desire would she be brimmed with?" He feigned questionly. "Why human compassion of course, but what else… Oh right, disliking anything that discriminates against the Faunus. You four do the math."

We looked at each other before realizing what the Yummy will be going after and destroying anything that is Anti-Faunus. "Tomorrow, I will go find that Yummy; I will leave you with whatever you will do." I got up before heading back to my dorm.

When I made it to my dorm room, I fell onto the bed tired. I am still surprised that Blake is a Faunus even more she was once with the group, White Fang. I am sure she has a good reason why she left that organization. Hopefully tomorrow, Weiss can look over what she did to make Blake upset.

* * *

 _Meanwhile in the streets of Vale, the Yummy was walking around the town, searching until it saw a Faunus was being barred from entering a store. This showed that the store is not allowing the Faunus to enter._

" _ **DEATH TO DISCRIMINATION!"**_ _the Yummy roared. The Yummy approached the store window and bashed it with its fists, causing the window to shatter. The storekeeper notices the ruckus and went to investigate, only to see a mummy trying to break into his store._

" _Hey, get away!" he shouted as he started smacking the Yummy with his broom. Annoyed, the Yummy grabbed hold of the broom which snapped in half in its grip._

" _ **Equality for all Faunus!"**_ _it roared once again before using full force and shattered the glass._

 _The bandages all fell away from the Yummy, exposing its true form as it matured. It was dark green with some black streaks on its body. Its arms and legs were armored but also had spikes on the legs. Its head resembled somewhat of a mix between a grasshopper and a ninja as it had a leaf like scarf around its neck. This was a Grasshopper Yummy._

 _The Yummy jumped inside the store as it began to destroy all the items that were around it. It used its spikes on its armor which shot out in all directions, destroying the products and such. It soon jumped out of the store before jumping from roof to roof, searching for more places that do not allow Faunus. Of course there is also one other objective._

 _Eliminate a Schnee._

* * *

As morning was up, I woke up to get myself ready to search for the Yummy knowing that it is roaming around the city. When I got my jacket on, I heard the door being knocked so I checked and saw Ruby. "What's wrong?"

"Blake is not back yet, we are gonna look for her in the city." she explained.

"Alright, I'll go with you since that Yummy is out there." I responded as Ankh came along so he can get the Cell Medals.

Once we made it to the city, we began walking through the empty streets. "She's been gone all weekend…" Ruby muttered.

"Blake's a big girl, I'm sure she can handle herself." Weiss told Ruby

"Layoff will ya, Weiss?" I stated. "She's our teammate."

"Is she? We all heard what she said." Weiss replied.

"Maybe she is, maybe she isn't, either way she's missing, and we need to find her." Yang said.

"A member of the White Fang, right underneath our noses." Weiss kept going on about her being part of the White Fang, making more upset than I already am.

"You girls go on ahead, I have a Yummy that I have to hunt." I said, before leaving as Ankh lead the way in search for the Yummy. I also left them so I won't hear more from Weiss.

As we progress, we saw some stores that were totally trashed. I also noticed an employee trying to clean up the mess so I walked up to him. "Excuse me, what happened here?" I asked.

"A creature unlike any I seen before broke into my store and trashed the place. It kept ranting about death to discrimination and the equality to the pesky Faunus."

My eyebrow twitch a bit but I chose to pretend that I didn't hear that. "Can you describe this monster?"

"Tall, dark green with black streaks. has spikes on its arms and legs, even looks like a bug. A grasshopper of some kind."

"Alright." I nodded before regrouping with Ankh.

"The Yummy matured. Good, more Cell Medals for us." he smirked.

"Let's focus on that Yummy, Ankh." I pointed out. "That thing is dangerous as it already is and I rather not let it eventually hurt people."

"People, eh? Then what about Snow girl?" he questioned.

"Eh?"

"You heard how she dislikes the Faunus. That makes her a target, probably on the top list since she _is_ a Schnee."

My eyes widened before I quickly looked around for a RideVendor. To my luck, I saw one by a building so I quickly slot in a Cell Medal before pressing the button, making the RideVendor convert to bike mode.

"Where are you going?"

"To find that Yummy before it finds Weiss!" I revved the bike before I drove away, leaving Ankh behind.

* * *

 _Blake took a sip of her tea as she was sitting across from the Faunus boy who is named Sun Wukong. She told her about being a member of the White Fang and such as Sun was coming to terms with her explanation._

" _So… have you told your friends any of this?" he asked._

 _Blake merely looks down in shame and says nothing._

" _I guess that is a no?" he guessed._

" _I am already having troubles as it is knowing of the higher grade that aren't Faunus."_

" _Higher grade than Faunus? What do you mean by that?"_

" _It's complicated. Let's just say they are more menacing than the White Fang or Grimm." she answered._

" _Who could be more menacing than the Grimm or the White Fang?" Sun questioned with a shrug._

" _Ever heard of the news about attacks of animal-like monsters that are not Faunus?" she asked._

" _Yeah, and I heard that some guy in a traffic-light costume was fighting them."_

 _She was quiet as she drank her tea before setting it down. "For right now, I have to worry about finding out if the White Fang are behind the robberies. I don't believe they are behind them."_

* * *

Uva watched from the highest building, seeing that his Yummy caused havoc on areas that are… racist towards the Faunus that he has no care for. To him, they are nothing more than desires that are walking, just ready to have a Yummy created from their own desire.

He took notice of OOO driving his motorcycle, in search for the Yummy. As much as he wants to kill the punk, he will have more power once the Yummy gains more Medals. "Hmph, let's see if you can win this one, OOO." he huffed before disappearing into a cluster of medals.

Meanwhile with Ruby, Weiss, and Yang, they continue their search for Blake.

"Blaaaake!" Ruby shouted.

"Blaaaake!" Yang called out.

Ruby looked at Weiss. "Weiiis, your not helping!"

"Oh, you know what might be able to help? The police." she suggested.

"Ugh, Weiss…" Ruby crossed her arms.

"It was just an idea!"

" **SCHNEE**!"

The girls stopped as they heard and then a figure came crashing down in front of them, cracking the sidewalk upon landing. It was the Grasshopper Yummy.

" **Schnee! Pay for your discrimination against the Faunus!"** it roared at her as it knelt down before it jumped in the air. It soon came down with its spiky knee aimed at Weiss, ready to impale her.

"Weiss, watch out!" Yang activated Ember Celica and she punched the Yummy with her fist connecting with its knee. This caused Cell Medals to explode on impact as the Grasshopper Yummy was repelled, landing on its feet.

" **Must kill Schnee!"** it vowed as it jumped around them. It jumped right behind Weiss as it got hold of her neck.

"Let her go!" Ruby exclaimed.

Before she could say more, they saw two Taka Candroids pecking the Yummy, annoying it as this caused the it to let go of Weiss.

It tries to swipe at the Candroids but couldn't as they kept dodging its attacks.

"Hey, Yummy!"

The Yummy turned around and saw me as I got off the RideVendor. I put on the OOO Driver before slotting the King Combo and repeated the motion. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

I was donned in my armor before I unsheathed Medajalibur at the ready. I charged forward but the Yummy easily dodged my attack by jumping away from me before delivering a jump kick, causing me to stagger back. It's arms and legs are covered with sharp edges like a grasshopper, which is more pain that it delivered to my armor.

Yang took point as she used her rounds, imbued with Core Energy and Dust to hit the Yummy as it stumbled back before jumping away to avoid another hit. "Stop jumping around, will ya!?" she exclaimed in annoyance. I have to agree with her, this Yummy is annoying due to its jumping ability but it fights well.

Weiss made a glyph to freeze the Yummy's legs once it landed again. The Yummy landed right where it wanted but it used its spikes to shoot out of the ice, freeing itself.

It looked at her, growling as it was ready to kill her but I wasn't letting that happen. Using Batta Legs, I jumped in the air before coming down swiftly, delivering a kick to its back, sending it to a building.

"Did we win?" Ruby asked.

"Don't know." I said as I slowly approach the new hole that was made. I look closely, only for me to be kicked back, landing next to Ruby, Yang, and Weiss.

We looked at the Yummy as its wounds were healed before it jumped away, far from our reach; escaping.

"Looks like it escaped." Yang crossed her arms. "At least we gave it a good beating."

We then looked at Weiss knowing that the Yummy tried to kill her. "What?"

I sighed before looking at the three. "Let's just find Blake before we find the Yummy."

As we walked, Weiss was still wondering why the Yummy attacked her. "Why would that Yummy attack me!?" she demanded.

"Blake was pretty mad at you when she left. The Yummy probably inherited her anger at you as well." I crossed my arms after I tilted the buckle back to its original position, dispelling my armor.

"Point there." Yang agreed.

"You're not helping!" Weiss growled at Yang.

"Let's just find Blake and that Yummy," I stated. "We should hear her side of the story."

"I agree with Enrique, Weiss. I think we need to hear her side of the story before we jump to any conclusions." Yang said, following Ruby.

"I think when we hear it, you'll all realize I was right." Weiss said.

"And I think Weiss's hair looks wonderful today." The voice was familiar, and when we turned quickly with a jump, we saw Penny.

"Gah! Penny where did you come from?!" Ruby said after she jumped. Seriously where did she come from?!

"Hey guys! What are you up to?" Penny cheerfully asked, ignoring her question.

"Uhhh-" Ruby 'uhh'd'.

"We're looking for our friend Blake." Yang replied.

"Oooh, you mean the faunus girl." She remembered the person.

"Wait, how did you know that?" Ruby asked Penny.

"Uh, the cat ears?" Penny pointed to her head.

Yang laughed a little. "What cat ears," Yang started. "she wears a...bow..." She finished with the wind blowing past us, quietly. I even saw a tumbleweed blew past us as well. Since when does this town have tumbleweeds?

"She does like tuna a lot..." Ruby whispered.

"So, where is she?" Penny asked them, she probably didn't realize they were looking for them. (How could she not?)

"We're looking for her." I said but not telling her about the Yummy.

"We don't know, she's been missing since Friday." Ruby told her. Penny approached her and grabbed her shoulders.

"That's terrible! Well don't you worry Ruby my friend, I won't rest until we find your teammate." She concluded.

Ruby was doing her best to continue smiling. "Uh, that's really nice of you, Penny, but we're okay! Really! Right, guys?"

"Guys?" I asked as we both looked back and saw that Weiss and Yang were gone. They ditched us! And again, another tumbleweed blows past us again in the quiet. Seriously, where do those tumbleweeds come from?

"It sure is windy today." She told the both of us. Penny truly is a strange girl.

* * *

 _Sun and Blake were walking from walking down an alley as Sun spoke up._

 _"So, what's the plan now?" He asked as he had his hands behind his head._

 _"I still don't believe the White Fang is behind these robberies. They've never needed that much Dust before." She contemplated._

 _Sun widen his eyes "What if they did?" He lowered his arms and pacing in front of Blake as he continues his theory. "I mean... the only way to prove that they didn't do it, is to go to the place where they would most likely go to if they were to do it, and not find them there! Right?"_

" _The only thing is, I've no idea where that would be."_

" _Well, while I was on the ship, I heard some guys talking about offloading a huge shipment of Dust coming in from Atlas."_

" _How huge?" She asked._

"Huge _. Big Schnee Company freighter."_

" _You're sure?" She questioned. He nodded but what they didn't know was that the Grasshopper Yummy heard it as it jumped by_.

* * *

After a few minutes of walking, and silence, Penny decided to speak up. "So, Blake is your friend?"

Ruby sighed. "Yes Penny." she answered.

"But you're mad at her?"

"Yes- well I'm not, Weiss is."

"Is she friends with Blake?"

"We'd hope so." I said from behind the two girls.

"That's kinda up in the air right now..." Ruby replied to Penny.

"But why?" Penny asked like an innocent girl.

"Weiss doesn't like Faunus." I commented.

"Blake might not be who we thought she was." Ruby added.

Penny gasped. "Is she a man? She asked, making me facepalm. This girl truly is a strange one.

"No, no Penny she's n-..." She sighs before looking at Penny again. "I don't know what she is. She didn't exactly talk to us before she decided to run off." Ruby completed her statement with a mental sigh.

"I don't have a lot of friends...but if I did, I would want them to talk to me about things." Penny told Ruby.

"People have secrets, some they can't share with others out of shame or guilt." I muttered. I know how Blake is feeling...all too well.

I looked at the night sky, going deeper into thought as well as to keep my head clear. I shook my head a bit before looking at Ruby. "Let's not give up, we will find Blake. I'm sure of it."

This made her smile before nodding in confidence. "Yeah, you're right." She agreed.

* * *

 _Sun and Blake worked their way on top of a Hanger because they were investigating a shipment of Schnee Dust that came in from the ships. Blake suggested if the White Fang were stealing a ton of dust, the shipment would probably be the next target._

 _"Did I miss anything?" Sun returned with a handful of apples._

 _"Not really, they've offloaded all the crates from the boat, now they're just sitting there." She continued to watch them as Sun turned to her._

 _"Cool. I stole you some food." He said as he offered her an apple._

 _"Do you always break the law without a second thought?" Blake asked without accepting it._

 _"Hey, weren't you in a cult or something?" Sun fired at Blake, but was taken back after she shot her 'Blake's annoyed' stare. "Okay too soon." As soon as he finished his statement, a dropship of some kind flew over their heads. It had its searchlights on the dust containers and flew over them until it landed softly on the open ground. The door opened and Blake groaned._

 _"Oh no..." She watched as a soldier with an emblem she remembered appeared out of the ship._

 _"Is that them?" Sun asked._

 _"Yes...it's them." Blake said as she continued to watch as more soldiers came out of the ship._

 _"All right, grab the tow cables." One of them said to the rest._

 _"You really didn't think they were behind it, did you?" Sun asked as if he felt bad for her, watching as her old faction readied to steal a dust container._

 _"No, I think deep down I knew. I just didn't want to be right-"_

 _"Hey! What's the hold up?!" Blake jolted as she heard a voice shout at all the soldiers._

 _"We're not exactly the most inconspicuous bunch of thieves at the moment, sooo why don't you animals try to pick up the pace." A man in a white trenchcoat with black bowler hat, who was holding a cane, stepped out of the ship. He rushed the soldiers for not being 'fast' enough._

 _"This isn't right, the White Fang would never work with a human. Especially not one like that." Blake pulled out Gambol Shroud._

 _"Hey what're you doing?!" Sun tried to warn her, but she already jumped off the hanger to down below to get a better look. She turned a few corners and saw the man in the suit._

 _"No you idiot, this isn't a leash." He said to one of the soldiers holding a rope._

 _Blake quickly slid behind the man and put her blade to his throat. "What the- Aw for f-"_

 _"Nobody move!" Blake demanded at the soldiers, who turned with their weapons drawn and aimed at her._

 _"Woah-hoh! Take it easy there, little lady." The man spoke with a semi-nervous tone._

 _Blake looked back from soldier to soldier before taking off her bow. "Brothers of the White Fang, why're you aiding this scum?!" She watched as some of them looked at her, then each other, then slowly lowered their weapons a little._

 _"Heh, oh kid. Didn't you get the memo?" The man said with a grin._

 _"What're you talking about?" Blake responded quickly._

 _"Eh the White Fang and I are going in on a joint business venture together."_

 _Blake pressed her blade on his throat even more. "Tell me what it is or I'll put an end to your little operation." Another dropship flew in from over head, blowing wind at them._

 _"I wouldn't exactly call it a 'little' operation." The man grinned as they both looked up at the ship. A second one followed the first and stopped to hover._

 _The man grinned and pulled a trigger on his cane, shooting the ground, sending Blake away from him in an explosion._

* * *

An explosion was heard in the distance and Ruby saw smoke coming from the docks. "Oh no." Ruby sighed.

I looked and also saw the smoke. "Let's hurry." I said. She nodded as the three of us ran to the source of the smoke.

* * *

Blake shook her head as she regained herself just in time to noticed the man fired three shots at her. She quickly got up and rolled over to the side to avoid the fire. He continued his assault as she used her semblance to dodge a close shot. She saw some crates and she ran behind then for cover.

"Here kitty kitty kitty..." The man said until a banana peel fell onto his hat. He groaned as he threw it off but he heard someone jump and looked up.

"Wo-who!" Sun had leaped from above and landed right on the man's face, forcing him down to the ground. Sun flipped a few times and stood up. "Leave her alone." He said sternly.

More White Fang soldiers jumped out of a dropship above Sun, surrounding him.

"You're not the brightest banana in the bunch, are ya kid?" The man said. Sun readied himself for a fight, and swiftly moved with attacked as each soldier attacked him. Denying anyone that gets close to him with a punch or kick, he pulled out a foldable staff, using it to his disposal against the soldiers. He took care of each soldier and once he sweep-kicked one and did a backflip over him, then stepping on him, which sent him flying over to the man's direction.

He seemed to be a bit angry as he shot at Sun with his cane. Sun blocked it as he twirled his staff quickly. Blake jumped in after the block and declared, "He's mine!"

She leaped in with a few strikes, then continued her assault with a strike after using her semblance to quickly transverse in the fight. However, she used to a few too many times and the man blocked her last attack and used it to his advantage, this time, counter-attacking her until she failed to use her semblance. Once he screwed her timing up, he hit her with his cane about five times before Sun cut in.

Sun's staff broke into 4 gun-chucks, which he failed around firing each one very quickly. The man had a hard time dealing with Sun's constant fire from his attacks but whenever he screwed up, Blake cut in and gave him a good hit, sending him back a few feet.

Once the man stood up, he noticed Sun and Blake were under a dust crate that was hanging only by one cord, so he capitalized on it, and fired at it. His shot caused the cord to break and the crate fell, forcing to split Sun and Blake apart. Blake escape was swift, however Sun's was a bit sloppy and he ended up dodging and rolling right in front of the Man's cane. Sun stared down the barrel and saw the man grin until a voice was heard from a rooftop on a hanger.

"Hey!"

Ruby walked forward and twirled Crescent Rose until it stabbed the roof, looking pretty serious. Penny and I showed up too, with my Medajalibur ready.

"That's the Torchwick guy you told us about huh?" I said, remembering the news when I first arrived in Beacon. I heard Torchwick say from below, "Oh hello red, isn't it past your bedtime? And who's your friend in black?"

I was confused at first until I remembered my jacket. Of course.

"Ruby, are these people your friends?" Penny asked from behind Ruby and I. "Penny get back." Ruby warned her.

With her attention is diverted, Roman snarls and fires his cane at her, launching the young her back from the explosion's force and sending her scythe flying away. "AAAAAH!"

"Ruby!" I shouted as I ran to her.

Roman gives off a professional-level evil laugh at his attack on the young girl. Penny turns her head toward the criminal and gives her first glare, walking forward while Ruby tries to get back up.

Penny looked after Ruby had been hit and she walked over to the edge of the roof. "Penny, wait stop!" Ruby tried to get her to stop, but it was too late.

"Don't worry Ruby, I'm combat ready!" Penny said as her backpack mechanically opens up, and from its dark depths comes a single sword that extends and multiples into several blades hovering over Penny's back.

Leaping from the rooftop with the weapons acting as wings, she sends three of her swords to knock two White Fang soldiers down before even landing on the ground, where she proceeds to fling the swords at one enemy, impale another to a wall, create a barrier of spinning steel against a running attack, leaping over a goon with her swords in tow, and finally making a wheel that she throws to knock multiple Faunus off their feet.

As much as I want to gawk at the firepower she is wielding, I looked at Ruby. "Ruby, stay here. I don't want you to get hurt again." I stated. "I'm not asking as a friend but as your teammate to stay and wait."

She looked at me for a moment, seeing the determination in my eyes before she nodded. "Be careful."

"Don't worry, I will do my best." I assured before I jumped down as I used my Medajalibur to stab onto the wall to land safely on the ground. Once I landed I saw a White Fang member with his sword ready to kill.

I charged toward the White Fang soldier as our swords clashed. I grimaced knowing that this isn't a Yummy I will be fighting but a person. Mustering the courage I can get, I forced his sword to lower before I punched him in the face before kicking him to the water. I saw Penny with the bullheads aimed at her.

" **Oi!"** a familiar voice called out.

I looked back and saw Ankh in his arm form. "Ankh? What are you doing here?" I asked.

" **In case you wonder, I went back to that school and came here like this. It seems the girl is taking this easy... for a machine."** He said but silently muttered the last part. He looked at me before handing me the Kamakiri Medal. " **You will need this for the Yummy since it is almost here."**

I grabbed the Medal and nodded as Ankh and I saw we were surrounded by White Fang members. "Crap." I cursed under my breath.

" **Do it."** he said as if he was reading my mind.

I lifted my shirt a bit, revealing the O-Driver, unknowingly being noticed by the criminal.

"What is that…?"

I put in the King Combo before doing the motion once again. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

Donned in my OOO armor with Tora claws ready, the White Fang soldiers were shocked to what happened to me including Roman.

"Hmm…" he muttered before he got out a device and recorded it without myself knowing.

"Alright, who's first?" I questioned the five that surround me.

My question was answered when they charged at me in which I used Taka Helm to see their weak points as well as their movements. I dodged to the left then under before I used Batta Legs to kick one back and punching the other with a swift uppercut.

' _ **Enrique has certainly improved from what I taught him…'**_ Ankh thought with amusement.

Just as I swiftly delivered a roundhouse kick to another soldier, I took notice of Penny firing laser beams at the Bullheads. Freakin' laser beams man! "Woah." I muttered in awe of the display before we saw the last two Bullheads escaping.

That was until Ankh moved a bit. " **The Yummy is here."** he informed. And he told the truth when we saw the Grasshopper Yummy jump onto a bullhead (The one that doesn't hold Roman) as it used its spiked arms to punch the glass on the cockpit. The Yummy got hold of the pilot and threw him out of the bullhead as it jumped down onto the other bullhead but it moved, dodging the Yummy.

The bullhead that no longer has a pilot soon crashed onto the crates, causing an explosion as the Grasshopper landed on the ground, looking at me, Ankh, Penny, Blake, and Sun.

" **Equality for all the Faunus!"** it roared.

" **Well, Kitty cat seems like the Yummy here has a desire that you may recognize."** Ankh said making Blake shocked to what she realized. The Yummy was born from her desire.

"My desire… made that thing." she muttered. Even seeing what it did, it made her shocked and filled with guilt.

"Don't beat yourself up over it Blake," I assured her as I place my hand on her shoulder. "I'll handle this like I always do. You told me that you should be the one keeping me safe; well it's my turn to make sure _you_ are kept safe."

I looked at the Yummy before switching Tora with Kamakiri and scanned them.

 **TAKA!**

 **KAMAKIRI!**

 **BATTA!**

I got into my battle stance as Penny joined my side. "Penny?"

She got ready with her weapons waiting to attack. "I'm combat ready!"

I looked at her for a moment until I nodded before we charged towards the Yummy. The Yummy thrust its arms out, causing spikes to disperse towards us but Penny got in front as her floating swords forms a shield, blocking the projectiles.

Using Batta Legs, I jumped over her before I delivered a slash onto the Yummy, causing it to stumble back as it spilled Cell Medals. With that, Penny took this chance to use her sword to hit the Yummy but her attacks couldn't cut through or make it bleed cell medals. "Why isn't it hurt by my weapons?" she asked.

"It's because I am the only one who can hurt them." I informed her, but leaving out the part where Team RWBY and JNPR are able to due to the Kougami Foundation. I took a hit to the stomach by the Yummy, making me buckle the pain as its attack sent me to a crate. "Damn it…" I cursed under my breath before I looked up and saw the Yummy aiming its knee at me.

Yet it couldn't when a ribbon wrapped around its body and dragged it to the ground, creating a small crater. I looked and saw Blake. "Nice one." I commented, giving her a smile.

We turned to look at the Yummy as it lost its balance a bit, showing that it is weak. "Now to finish it off." I declared as the sounds of the Kamakiri was heard behind my helmet, making me jumping in the air before I delivered a cross strike onto the Yummy, causing it to reel back and explode into Cell Medals with Ankh gathering them all.

I breathed heavily from the fight before I fell on my rear as I tilted the buckle back, dispelling my armor and laid on my back. "Hehehe…" I chuckled as I saw the shattered moon knowing that it was like the time when I first defeated the Mantis Yummy after becoming OOO.

A shadow was over me, only for my eyes to lock onto the golden yellow eyes again. Blake had a smile adorned on her lips before she reached her hand out to me. I obliged before she helped me stand up and saw that Ankh was not here, possibly heading back to Beacon and soon the Kougami Foundation to give them the share of Cell Medals again.

* * *

After a while, a handful of police cars are at the docks, where Ruby, Blake, Sun, Penny, and I were sitting on boxes in silence. That is, until Weiss and Yang appear on the scene, tension started.

"LookWeissit'snotwhatyouthinksheexplainedthewholethingyouseeshedoesn'tactuallywearabowshehaskittyearsandthey'reactuallykindacute." Ruby quickly said as Weiss walked past Ruby, ignoring her entire rant of explanation. She approached Blake and stood there for a moment.

"Weiss, I want you to know that I'm no longer associated with the White Fang, back what I was with-" Blake tried to explain.

"Stop. Do you have any idea how long we've been searching for you? Twelve hours. That means I've had twelve hours to think about this, and in those twelve hours, I've decided..." Everyone looked at each other for a few seconds.

"I don't care." Weiss finished.

"You don't care?" Blake asked, confused.

"You said you're not one of them anymore, right?"

"No, I-I haven't been since I was younger-" Blake was cut off quickly.

"Ahpupupup, I don't wanna hear it. All I want to know is that the next time something this big comes up, you'll come to your teammates, and not some...someone else." Weiss said as Blake looked at Sun, then over to Ruby, Yang and me.

I let out a kind smile at Blake. She wiped a tear out of her eye and calmly said, "Of course." Weiss smiled at Blake after hearing the response.

"Yeah! Team RWBY's back together!" Ruby chanted happily as everyone gathered around closely as I watched with a smile. What we didn't know that Penny was no longer here with us.

"I'm still not quite sure how I feel about _you_." She pointed at the monkey Faunus and he laughed nervously.

I jumped off the crate and walked to them. "Let's head back." I said before looking at the monkey Faunus. "Nice to meet you by the way."

"Uh, same here. I'm Sun, Sun Wukong."

I blinked at the name since I heard that name in Chinese mythology. "The name's Enrique. Anyways see ya later." I said as we walked away.

As we walked to the bullhead, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned my head and saw Blake. "Something wrong Blake?"

She shook her head before saying, "Thank you, for helping me."

I smiled. "It's what friends do Blake. We always look after each other." I said.

She smiled before joining up with Weiss and Yang. At least now Weiss and Blake can get along as friends. Still, what is the White Fang up to and what is that criminal, Roman Torchwick planning?

Something tells me this is just the beginning of something big for me knowing that I am fighting the Greeed and Yummys.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ozpin was holding a scroll showing a live feed of Ruby and Enrique at the docks. He closes the video and opens up a communication with only message that says 'QUEEN HAS PAWNS.'

"Hmmm..." Ozpin pondered.

In another location, Roman walks into a large warehouse with a shadowy interior. He goes over to a table and places down a case of mysterious contents, sighing in tiredness.

"How very disappointing, Roman." A feminine voice said.

Roman suddenly turns around when he hears the voice and their noisy entrance. "Whoa! Hehe... I wasn't expecting to see you guys so soon..." He said.

"We were expecting... more from you." She said as her eyes flowed in the dark.

Roman laughs a little before getting serious. "Hey! You were the ones who suggested working with those stupid mutts from the White Fang."

The woman chuckles darkly. "And you will continue to do so." she summons a fireball in her hand and steps out of the darkness, revealing a has ashen-black hair and bright (nearly glowing) amber eyes, while her fingernails are painted dark red. She wears a dark-red, off-the-shoulders, v-neck minidress with yellow designs. There is a blue feather-like accessory on her right hip, at the top of an open portion of her dress. The dress ends in an upside-down triangular tail in the back, ending just above the knees.

There is a baseball diamond-shaped keyhole on the dress' upper back at the same height as her chest. The sleeves end in a triangle shape, which are wrapped or tied around her middle finger, with the gold designs of the sleeve taking over at the wrists. She wears black shorts underneath her dress, as well as a black choker on her neck. She wears gold loop earrings with a black gem dangling from each. She has dark, glass, high-heeled shoes and a jeweled anklet on her right leg.

With her were two companions, a purple-haired man and mint-haired, tanned woman, eyes glowing gold. "We have big plans for you, Roman. All we ask is... a little cooperation." She had an evil smirk graves on her lips.

In the mansion, Uva sensed his Yummy has been defeated, leaving him angered. "Damn that OOO!" He growled before standing up and walked to the room where he saw the other three Greeed in their human forms.

"I take it your Yummy is gone?" Kazari asked.

"Shut it." He growled. "It's time we move on to the next phase of our plans."

' _About time…'_ Kazari mentally grinned. After all, he gathered all the information he needed after his previous spying on the organization to find the leader. All he needed to do now was to move the pieces of the board in his favor.

It begins.

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"Ahhh, the first day of no school." I sighed in relaxation.

"What would you like to do?" Blake asked, curious.

" _ **We are taking over your operations now, White Fang."**_ _Uva announced._

 **Next time: Relaxation, Friends, Rising Threat**

* * *

 **A/N: T** hat is it for the Volume One arc. I hoped you enjoyed this chapter as well as the battles. Don't forget to check out my other stories including my newest one, **The Hunt for the Eyecons (Kamen Rider Ghost x Ghost Hunt).** I will see you all in the next chapter! Stay in the shadows everyone!


	12. Chapter 12:Relaxation, Friends, New Plan

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the twelfth chapter of OOO! I hoped you enjoyed the Volume One arc from the previous chapters. But remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]). This chapter and the next chapter takes place between RWBY events of Volume One and Volume Two.

Chapter 2 of **The Hunt for the Eyecons** will be uploaded soon (I'm currently typing it but at the same time thinking of how it should progress within the chapter) along with Chapter 7 of **Kamen Rider Dark Drive: Hyperdimension Road**. Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we?

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

It was now Monday as there was no class for the rest of this week since the first semester ended a couple of days ago. Now I could relax for a bit knowing that there is no class but I was still on guard since the Greeed and Yummies could attack anytime. "Ahh, the first day of no school." I sighed in relaxation. I was resting on my bed, wearing my casual clothes as I had my hands behind my head while Ankh was on the top bunk.

"For once I have to agree with you. No teaching those humans means no headache for me." Ankh somewhat agreed.

"Oh? Then what about me, Team RWBY, and JNPR?" I asked.

"You nine are still a headache to me." he growled.

"I wonder what we should do since we have no class." I wondered.

"You mean what _you_ should do." Ankh corrected me. "I rather not join you on whatever you do during your free time."

"Come on, Ankh. All you do is fiddle with the Medals and on that Scroll all the time when you are not teaching." I stated. "You should at least do something other than that."

He scoffed before going back to his Scroll. Man, what will convince him to at least have some fun? I got up from my bed before heading to the door. "Well I am gonna head out. Enjoy your time on the Scroll." I waved off. I still wonder one thing about him: what happen in the past that made him like that?

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 12: Relaxation, Friends, Rising Threat**

With the week long break in Beacon, students chose to spend their time either hanging out with friends out in Vale or just lounging about in their dorm room. A few probably went back to visit their families after not seeing them for a whole semester.

I simply wandered around the academy, exploring more. When I saw the walkway that leads to the landing zone, it brought back memories when I first met Team RWBY. "Sure has been awhile…" I muttered with a smile.

Being in Beacon sure has crazy moments. Like in the cafeteria when Nora tried to force Ankh to eat chicken. Now that was funny but at the same time a bit harsh.

Looking around, I noticed Blake under the same tree where she read her book last time. "Hey Blake." I called out. She averted her eyes from the book and saw me. "I take it you are reading under the same spot again."

She nodded before going back to her book as I sat down by her. We spent the next few moments just sitting together in silence, letting ourselves bask in our surroundings. "This brings me back to the time you help me unlock my aura." I smiled.

"It has been a while hasn't it." Blake agreed with as she continues to read.

I soon felt the wind calmly passing through the trees, causing some leaves to fall. "To think how much we've been through since we started our enrollment here…" I muttered.

She slowly nodded. "Being in a team, fighting the Greeed and Grimm, and the fight from a couple of days ago."She responded.

I closed my eyes as the calm wind brushed past me. It felt very comforting and peaceful.

"Hey Enrique." Blake called out, making me open my eyes.

"Yes Blake?"

"I know this may be a personal question but what was your family like?" She asked.

I was quiet when she asked that question. "You don't have to an-"

"It's okay, I don't mind telling you." I assured. "Well there's my little sister, Marie. She was always a cheerful person, wanting to make others happy. Heck, there were times she cheers me up and she would always call me bro." I chuckled. This made Blake show a small smile.

"My mom is a teacher, not a combat school, but a normal school. She teaches class for little kids." I continued. "In fact she was the reason I became interested in reading books."

"And your father…?"

"My dad…" I let out a small chuckle. "He was a soldier. He always has his beliefs on what it means to protect people. I looked up to him a lot and he was very wise at times."

"And the other times?"

"Likes to joke around." I chuckled. "I found them funny and he use those jokes to cheer me up. Whenever he goes on deployment, he always finds a way to call us. Whenever he returns home we would always go out to a restaurant to celebrate his return."

"Your family sounds really nice." She smiled. I nodded.

"I just remembered, have you seen Yang, Ruby, and Weiss?" I asked. "I haven't seen them since this morning."

"Ruby and Yang dragged Weiss along to the city." She said.

"I bet she didn't want to go." I chuckled. "At least she hasn't delivered those Cell Medals to her family." I came to learn from Blake that Weiss still hasn't send the Cell Medals she saved to her family which gave me _some_ ease for now.

"And Enrique, thank you for what you said the other day." Blake said, not averting her eyes from her book.

I was wonder what she meant by that until I remembered from what I said to her. "Anything to help a friend." I smiled as I look at the sky. As a few more minutes passed, filled with silence to enjoy the calm nature, something came up in my head. _'I wonder what the Kougami Foundation has been doing.'_ I wondered in thought.

* * *

 **(Meanwhile in the Kougami Foundation)**

 _Kougami was enjoying his time baking another cake. In front of him was a holoscreen displaying videos of the Full Combos that Enrique has used to fight the Yummy._

 _Seeing the young man withstand them is interesting but also the birth of the potential he has. He soon heard the door open, making the videos end and saw the Hunter without his helmet once again._

" _Ah, I take it you finished another mission." He assumed with a smile._

" _Yes sir." He responded as he watches Kougami finish baking a cake. "Kougami, I still am concerned about that Bird Greeed."_

" _Why would he be a concern? Why he has brought us Cell Medals for the company." He gestured to a glass casing, filled with Cell Medals that Ankh delivers._

" _Sir, I can't trust that monster knowing that he nearly got… his host killed." He glowered under his breath._

 _Kougami could see the anger in his eyes. No doubt that the person Ankh is possessing has a relation to the Hunter. "I assure you, everything will work at the end. After all it is wonderful!"_

" _...alright…" He muttered before heading to the door._

" _And Felix."_

 _The said Hunter now named Felix turned his head. "Yes, Kougami?"_

 _Kougami reached in his drawer before pulling out 4 clear boxes; three of them holding three Blue cans, different than the Tako can while the fourth box had one yellow can and threw them to him. "Deliver those to Team RWBY, JNPR, and Enrique; I am sure they will like the new Candroids." he smiled._

 _He slowly nodded before leaving. When Felix left the office, he pulled out a photo from his pocket that shows himself and Miss Haven who was holding a young man's hand that was around her age, showing that her and that person are a couple. It was the same man that Ankh is possessing._ 'You better not get him killed, you idiotic bird… Aria is already sad as it is.' _he growled in thought before he went to deliver the new Candroids to Beacon._

* * *

For about 30 minutes of relaxing by the tree, my eyes were close to sleeping until Blake spoke up. "So, Enrique. I was wondering if you'd like to head into town with me," Blake offered.

"Really?"

"Well, I really want to repay you for your help."

"Blake, we're friends. We don't need to owe each other anything."

"Well, I insist."

"Blake, are you asking me out on a date?" I teased. The stoic, calm girl now had a blush from what I said. This was the very first time I ever seen her blush too.

"N-Nothing like that." she shook her head with a stutter.

I chuckled before standing up, "Alright, so where would you like to go?" I asked, curious.

"I plan on going to Tukson's Book Trade." she replied as she stood up.

"You lead the way then." I said before we made our way to the Bullhead. Not to mention, it sounded like she often goes to that bookstore.

Once we made it to the city, Blake lead the way as I followed her to the said bookstore. Once there, I saw the store before Blake and I entered the building. It was filled with books in every shelf; no wonder Blake comes here, it's like a library.

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun," the shopkeeper greeted.

"Hey, Tukson."

"Ah, Blake. It's been awhile since you stopped by."

"Oh, you know. Busy life at Beacon."

"Ah, yes. You're a Huntress-in-Training. And who's your friend?"

"He's Enrique. We were hoping to see if you had any new books that just came in."

"Heh, you know my motto."

"Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun," Blake and Tukson said in unison.

As Blake began to look around for a book, I walked up to Tukson's and asked, "Do you have anything about history?".

"What kind of history?" Tukson enquired politely.

"About a greedy king from 800 years ago."

"Hmm… Let me see." He pondered as he move around the counter as I watched him look through the shelves. He soon stopped at one shelf at the end of the room. "Ah, here we go." He pulled out the book to my surprise as he handed it to me.

The cover had the King's Combo symbol on it and it looks old but kept in good condition.

"Where did you manage to get this?" I asked but at the same time, making sure Blake doesn't hear my reaction upon findig the book.

"When I first opened up this place, an old man wanted to give me this book, seeing if anyone is willing to take it." He answered.

I flipped through the pages, some of it mention the King himself and what he has done. It was like a journal but at the same time, it talked about the Lost Kingdom and its history.

When I closed the book, I looked at Tukson. "Can I buy this?" I asked.

"Of course." He nodded as we went to the register.

* * *

After purchasing the book, we both left the store and went to the bullhead to head back to Beacon. Finding the book was luck and now I need to know the history of the Lost Kingdom but I kept it hidden from Blake. As much as I wanted to show her, I had to show it to Ankh to get confirmation if this is the real deal or not.

As we rode the bullhead together, I said to Blake, "Thanks for asking me to come with you, Blake. I had fun."

"Well, I did enjoy the company. Nobody else in my team loves books as much as I do," replied Blake. Ruby only used books to study when she had to and so did Weiss. Yang, well, she wasn't much of a bibliophile as Blake.

"So, anyway. Since it'll be lunch soon, want to grab a bite at the cafeteria?"

She looked at me for a moment before she said, "Sure," she answered.

Once we made it back, we both headed to the cafeteria and we got ourselves lunch. When we made it to the table, I took notice of Blake's meal being a tuna sandwich. "You sure like tuna a lot. Just don't eat too much or you will become a tuna yourself." I teased her.

"Like that would happen." She snorted with amusement.

I chuckled before I went back to enjoy my meal. After taking another bite of my food, I took notice that Blake was engrossed in her book again.

I saw a glance of the title and saw that she was reading 'Ninjas of Love.' I blinked, wondering why is she reading some type of romance novel. "Hey Blake, what type book are you reading?"

She immediately blushed, seeing that I saw she was reading the book. "I-it's nothing."

"Come on, you are reading a romance novel, judging by the name of the title." I pointed out before getting hold of the book.

"Don't read it." She warned with a small panic.

"How bad could it be?" I asked before I started to read it. Within two minutes, I quickly hand her book back as my face blushed heavily. "B-Blake… Why in the world do you have a book like that…?" I stammered.

She blushed, while looking away, embarrassed knowing that I found out what the book _actually_ was. "D-Do you want to talk about ourselves instead and not the book?" she suggested. I nodded knowing that we should forget what I just read as well.

We decided to spend the rest of the day talking to each other about ourselves for a little while for today but also to avoid and forget further questions and answers to why she has a book like that. Seriously, why does Blake have _that_ kind of book!?

* * *

Once it was nighttime, Blake and I were heading back to our respective dorms and forgot all about _that_ book she had. "Hey Blake, thanks for inviting me. I actually enjoyed it." I smiled.

She smiled. "Glad you enjoyed it." She responded. "At least we both had a peaceful time, talking to each other."

"Yeah," I nodded and we soon saw we were close to our respective dorms. "Well…" I stretched my arms a bit. "It's time to call it a day and get some sleep for a new day tomorrow."

"Enrique, if you're free, would you like to grab a bite to eat at Vale someday?"

I turned my head to look at her. "Are you sure that you are not trying to ask me on a date?" I teased her once again, making her blush.

"I told you before, it's nothing like that." she stuttered again with a blush.

I chuckled before making eye contact with her again. "Sure, I don't mind." I accepted. "Anyways, good night." I entered my dorm room before seeing three boxes, _three_ boxes that once held ice cream are now on the floor along with wrappers all around the room.

I looked at the Bird Greeed and saw he still was on the Scroll eating another popsicle. "Ankh, what the hell man!?" I pointed at the empty boxes and wrappers. "Why didn't you throw those away instead of throwing them on the ground!?"

"Why should I?" he scoffed. "I was enjoying the ice candy."

"But still! You should at least clean up after yourself!" I heaved a sigh before I picked up the boxes and wrappers. "Man why do I always have to do this."

After throwing them away, I went to the bathroom to change into my pajamas and walked to my bed.

"So what have you been doing while I did my research?"

"Just went to Tukson's bookstore with Blake and read a book involving some history. Actually before she went to her dorm, she asked me if she wanted to hang out next time."

Ankh was quiet for a moment before he laughed. "What's so funny?" I asked.

"You are an idiot."

"The hell are you talking about?"

"You will see soon enough." he said before he went back to his Scroll. Still, what the hell is he talking about? Blake and I are just friends who enjoy each other's company often. Speaking of which...

"Oh, Ankh. I think you should see this," I got the book out of my jacket.

"What are y-" his eyes widen to the book. "Where in Remnants did you find it?"

"At a bookstore called Tukson's Book Trade." I answered. "It talks about the Multi-King and the Lost Kingdom."

He quickly jumped off the top bunk before I placed the book on the desk for the both of us to read. We were both staring at it for a good long minute before I opened it.

We began to read the book and didn't stop. "Clever bastard whoever kept this book hidden from those who wanted any evidence of the Multi-King gone." He muttered as we continued to read. He wasn't lying, whoever handed it to Tukson was aware of the Multi-King and kept this book away from anyone for a long time. Dwelling deeper into my thoughts, wondering who gave Tukson the book, I notice Ankh staring at the book; the type of stare that shows something completely caught his interest. "Something caught your attention?" I noticed.

He nodded as he pointed at a page from the book. It was writing but at the end showed a symbol I never seen. It was images of a cobra, a crocodile, and the shell of a sea turtle. As I read it, my eyes widen to what it was; seeing the final image show the three images from before as one.

"Another combo." Ankh smirked with triumph and amusement. "It seems like we hit a jackpot. This book has provided us information of a new combo is around."

"But each combo corresponds to a different Greeed. Does that mean there's a Greeed we don't know about?"

Hoping that there is no mention of a new Greeed, Ankh looked through the pages to learn more about the new Combo. I only watched the OOO series nearly 3 years ago and it never shown this during the episodes. "It says here they were made _after_ the five of us Greeed were created." He read. "Only _three_ Core Medals were created by one of the Royal Alchemists. It takes 10 to make us remember?"

This gave me relief that Team RWBY, Team JNPR, and I won't have to deal with a new Greeed. We already have enough problems with four. "So what happened to the three Core Medals then?" I muttered to myself.

Ankh did mention that Core Energy is indestructible unless another source of Core Energy was used against it. Wanting to know more, the both of us read the book that was laid out in front of us.

As we read it, we saw writing that was different on another page, showing that someone wrote it.

" _In my years with Gara, we never knew the capabilities the Greeed could possess or even the power our King had as OOO. The Core Medals were indeed powerful but I feel that my King is being driven into madness with that power."_

This piqued our interest as we were engrossed into the alchemist's log.

" _The Core Medals were necessary to create the Greeed and made them alive but I feel that making the Medals were enough but Gara insisted that the Greeed should be created with 10 Core Medals in each one."_

"Seems like the alchemist that wrote this was concerned about his King and Gara." I muttered as we read. The alchemist that wrote this must have known that making the Greeed could spell chaos in the future.

" _My days here has been more and more troublesome. Our majesty has gone into utter madness, our people are turning against each other, and the Greeed are becoming more powerful by the day. That was where I drew the line and decided to create three Core Medals on my own. It took me time but I infused the essence of three animals: Cobra, Sea Turtle, and Crocodile. I just hope that Gara never knows or finds out about the three Core Medals I created or he will kill me..."_

And that was where the log ended. I was left shocked to hear what this alchemist went through. He risked his own life to create the three Core Medals but for what exactly? Why make them when the Multi-King was already in greed and going into madness? Too much questions and speculations were going through my head, leaving me quiet.

I simply stared at the book upon learning about the new, unknown combo while Ankh had a smirk on his face. "Time to begin my research on what happened to those Core Medals." He said as he got on the top bunk and began to go through his Scroll for information. No doubt that he is gonna find out what happened to them.

For me, I continued to read the book and it detailed the exploits of the Greedy King, aka the First OOO. I read on how he ruled his kingdom and expanded, using the power of the Core Medals to defeat the armies of the countries he conquered.

However as I progress more into the story I soon came across a log, a log written by the alchemist who created the O-Driver, Gara.

' _I never thought the King would order us to create a homunculus. As an Alchemist, I considered it a challenge and possibly an achievement to create one. At first, we tried it out with usual means with the essence of a normal human and animal but we failed, yet it resulted with a hybrid; a human with animal like traits.'_

"The Faunus..." I muttered in shock. Who wouldn't be shocked when the Faunus were actually created by the very man who created the Greeed. The entire race of Faunus was created via alchemy? Wanting to know more, I continued to read the log.

' _These creatures, which we dub as 'Faunus', were stronger than humans. They even possessed their animalistic traits, complemented by their human intelligence. They made good soldiers for the king's army.'_

So the King's army was composed of Faunus? Now that caught our attention knowing that the King was human and his soldiers were Faunus. Did the Multi-King actually cared about the Faunus before he became mad with power?

' _Though they were loyal, the King treated them as tools, weapons. They were valuable assets to the kingdom.'_

This made me grit my teeth in anger. I was wrong, he doesn't care about the Faunus, he was only using them as tools and weapons. This was sick to my stomach from reading this but I chose to know more about what Gara and his alchemist did.

' _As our methods failed to conduct the_ perfect _homunculus, we decided to change our plans. And so with the help of our King and our Auras, we created a new type of energy: Core Energy. When we created it, we used it with the very essence of animals to create Core Medals which soon resulted with our new group of homunculus. They were fully detailed of a set of three animals on their body unlike the Faunus who became the lower grade than our newest creations. Such marvelous creatures our creations were, making those Faunus only slaves to do the work'_

I slammed the book shut as I gritted my teeth again. This was just too much for me to know, learning that even in the past the Faunus were treated like animals but they were also treated as slaves, tools, weapons. This made me filled with anger. "Those bastards…" I cursed under my breath as I clenched onto the book.

It made me upset from learning how the King treated the Faunus and his people. Even reading Gara's log showed that even he considers the Faunus as tools and weapons.

Not wanting to read more, I walked to my bed before I draped myself with the blanket. I still can't believe that the Faunus were created by the Alchemists and treated as tools, weapons, and slaves.

But one thing crossed my mind, should I tell Blake? How would she react knowing that the Faunus were created by the same man who created the Greeed. Thinking of how she would react if she found out left me hurt but also if I didn't tell her, it would only make me more guilty for not telling her about the origins of the faunus.

Without anymore thinking, I decided to close my eyes and let sleep take over, waiting for the next day to begin.

* * *

The next day began, I got myself cleaned up and wearing a fresh set of clothes and went to the cafeteria. Once there, I was eating breakfast that was composed of scrambled eggs, a breakfast muffin, and luckily I managed to get three pancakes. Thank God these weren't the last pancakes since I recalled Ruby's warning of what happens when someone gets the last pancakes before Nora. I rather have my stomach and bones intact thank you very much!

I found Nora sitting with Ren and saw the huge stack of pancakes Nora had on her plate. The stack was drenched in syrup but she had no trouble eating the pancakes. She was practically inhaling them like a vacuum.

Sitting next to them, I asked Ren, "How does she keep putting those away?"

"When I first met her, I once asked myself the same question." He answered. I chuckled.

"These pancakes are good, but Renny makes the best," beamed Nora. Though, it actually came out muffled as her mouth was full.

"Nora, don't talk with your mouth full."

"Yes, Ren!"

I looked at the two. They were the unlikeliest of friendships. It was like looking at night and day. It reminded me how Zack and I were. Zack was a bit of a ladies man and I would often joke with him about him getting his butt kicked and one time, he nearly got his ass kicked. That funny moment was a fun memory, seeing him get chased around while I watched with a bag of chips. I let out a chuckle just from remembering it.

"What're you laughing about?" Nora asked.

"It's just...a funny memory," I told her.

"What kind of memory?" Ren asked curious.

"I once had a friend named Zack back where I was from. He was… my only friend." I answered before my good mood was restored. "He was a bit of a ladies man and nearly got his butt kicked for flirting with a girl who was already in a relationship, and he wasn't even aware of it at all. I warned him often whenever he tries to flirt with a girl and sometimes he agrees with my warning, the other times he just rolls with it." I continued. "Just seeing you two kinda reminds me how Zack and I were: one who can be calm while the other goes with the flow."

"Sounds like quite the character," Ren commented.

"Sounds like a fun guy," added Nora.

I smiled and nodded. "You have no idea," I chuckled. I was gonna eat my pancakes until I saw that it was gone. "Hey what hap-"

I soon heard a slurp, making me look at Nora and saw she ate my pancakes. Aw man! "Nora." Ren said. "You shouldn't have taken his pancakes."

"But I love pancakes!" Nora pouted as my shoulders slumped knowing that I will never get the chance to eat pancakes.

* * *

After eating breakfast with Nora eating my pancakes, I headed to my dorm until I encountered Ruby and Yang. "Hey you two."

"Hey Enrique!" Ruby waved as the two walked up to me. "Enjoying the day?"

"Yeah, just thinking about what to do today since I was hanging out with Blake yesterday."

Yang suddenly had a grin on her face. "What?" I asked.

"So you two were on a date~" she grinned but I swore there was a hint of emotion behind it.

"It wasn't a date!" I said with a small blush. "We only went to a bookstore and got ourselves some books." It was part true but I didn't want to tell the two about the new Combo that is somewhere out there and the actual origins of the Faunus.

"Boring." Yang yawned. "So what are you gonna do?"

I rubbed the bridge of my nose before looking at the two. "I think I should do some training again." I replied.

"Can we tag along?" Ruby asked. "I wanna see what kind of combinations you can do!"

I blinked. I actually never thought of that before. Testing random combos to see some good advantages in a fight can be helpful. "Sounds like a good idea." I smiled.

Before we can head to the training room, I had to ask Ankh for the Core Medals we had collected so far. It wasn't easy. I had to promise him an entire case of ice cream he enjoyed so much. Well, at least they were cheap to get and Ankh didn't make me promise to do something dangerous for him later on.

I sat with Ruby and Yang in the training room with the Core Medals all in the middle. They were organized based on corresponding parts of my armor: head, arms and legs.

Head Medals: Taka, Lion, Kuwagata, Sai

Arm Medals: Tora, Kamakiri, Gorilla

Leg Medals: Cheetah, Batta, Tako, Zou

"Alright, let's do this!" Ruby pumped her fists enthusiastically.

I grabbed the first random set of Medals and activated my OOO-Driver.

" **LION!"**

" **GORILLA!"**

" **TAKO!"**

I was now equipped the Liondas head, Gorilla Arms, and Tako Legs which were light blue with suction cups on the surface, similar to tentacles of an octopus. "So these are the Tako Legs." I said as I looked at my legs.

"What do they do?" Yang asked.

"Hmm…" I muttered in curiosity since I watched the series. I soon heard the sound of an octopus behind my helmet, making my legs actually become the tentacles of an octopus, just like in the series. "Looks like I get the tentacles of an octopus."

"Ew! Change back!" Ruby grimaced.

I did as instructed since I can tell that Ruby was grossed out from the Tako Legs when they are activated. I then look at the wall and then ran towards it. Jumping up, I planted my own two feet on the wall's surface. I flailed my arms as I tried to maintain balance and once I did, I started to walk up the wall.

"So, the suction cups aren't just for show," I noted as I walked up towards the ceiling.

"You enjoy hanging around?" Yang asked with a mirthful grin, making us groan to her pun. I jumped off and landed on my feet.

"Ok, how about we see how this combo fairs in battle?"

* * *

We tried various combinations after that and with each random combo was a quick battle to test it out.

 **TAKA!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **CHEETAH!**

* * *

 **KUWAGATA!**

 **KAMAKIRI!**

 **ZOU!**

* * *

 **SAI!**

 **KAMAKIRI!**

 **CHEETAH!**

* * *

Ruby enjoyed what each random combo could do, and I did too. It was good to see how well the Medals worked together in a single form. I turned my head to Ruby before looking at the book that held the Medals. I remembered that in the series Ankh and Hina were the Medal Handlers, so I grabbed the Medal Holder and walked up to Ruby. "Ruby, can I ask you something?"

"Sure what is it?"

"Whenever we go on missions or in battles, I was wondering if you can be the Medal Holder." I asked.

"I thought Ankh holds onto them?" she recalled.

"Yeah but he won't be around often since he does his research and won't be able to spectate us more often like before." I explained. "But promise me that you won't lose them. Remember what will happen if the Greeed or anyone who wants to use its power obtain it?"

She looked at me for a moment before placing her hand on the book. "I promise." She vowed before moving her hand away from the holder.

"Hey, what about me?" Yang asked me.

"You lost the two Unagi Medals to Gamel. I think it would be bad enough if I entrusted them to you." I pointed out.

This made Yang pout, "That was only one time."

"One time where you got punched by him, making you lose two Medals that fell out of your pockets and into his hands." I pointed out with a deadpan expression.

"You're no fun." Yang crossed her arms. "Speaking of which, you have gotten better since Ankh became our combat instructor."

"Yeah because he gave me harsher, intense, training than he does to Jaune." I deadpanned. "And add the fact that if we piss him off, we have to jog around the school."

"Right, forgot about that." Ruby recalled before noticing the time. "Oh, the bakery is gonna have a sale soon! Gotta go!" She soon disappeared in a flurry of red petals.

"She sure likes cookies." I noted.

"That's my little sister for ya." Yang agreed. "Well I'm gonna head out as well, take care." She waved off.

I chuckled as I picked up the Medal Holder until I heard footsteps, making me look back and saw Jaune. "Oh hey Jaune."

"Hey Enrique, what brings you here?"

"I was testing some random combos with Ruby's and Yang's help. It worked out pretty well." I replied as I put the King Combo in my pocket.

"Hey I was wondering if you wanna spar?" He asked, albeit nervous.

I blinked before showing a grin. "You're on." I accepted.

* * *

After accepting his spar request, Jaune and I both soon clashed. He was wielding his Crocea Mors while I was using my Medajalibur. He gritted his teeth and tried to slash at me but I parried then hit his stomach with the blunt side of my blade.

"Grh." Jaune cringed before I rolled away from his shield.

Avoiding another slash but moving to the side, I kicked his shin back, causing him to fall on one knee before I had the tip of Medajalibur aimed at his neck. "Good fight Jaune." I commented as the buzzer went off.

I moved my sword away before pulling Jaune up. "You gotten better with Pyrrha's help.

"Not as much as you with Ankh teaching you."

"Don't remind me." I deadpanned. "He is a pain as my 'mentor' than a combat teacher."

We both shuddered knowing that Ankh gave us the most intense training ever.

After the spar we were on the bleachers as we both had water bottles by our sides. "Oh Enrique, I forgot to ask, what was it like?" He asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean being a fighter before getting that armor."

I pondered before looking at my drink. "Well… I had no knowledge of fighting to be honest."

"But why-"

"Through error and correction." I answered, knowing what he was gonna point out. "But it is also through training and practice."

"Oh." He muttered. "So you were not scared when you fought the Greeed, Yummies, and Grimm?"

"I was scared, Jaune." I admitted, making him surprised. "Sure fear can be a weakness but it is also a strength. There's a saying: 'there's nothing to fear but fear itself'" I quoted. "When you are afraid of something, you should confront your fear and deal with the thing you are afraid of. If you avoid what you fear you will not make any progress and will remain stuck at that point until you pluck up the courage to do what you fear. Usually the fear of something, is much worse than the actual event turns out to be."

"Woah…" Jaune muttered. Hell, even I was surprised that I pulled that off. "I see your point."

I patted his back while giving a grin. "Just remember you have your team and friends to be there for you in times of need." I reminded as I got up. "Besides, you guys are my friends." I let out a smile.

He soon had a grin of confidence in his face. "You're right," he nodded as he got up.

After saying our goodbyes as we went back to our usual doings, I decided to head to the rooftop as I gaze at the sunset. "If only you guys met my new friends and saw how much I changed. Marie would have liked Ruby" I muttered as I look at my locket. "I miss you guys…"

What I didn't know was that a familiar girl with a familiar bow watched before she walked away.

* * *

 _The Greeed were in their human forms as they were walking towards the White Fang base. Once they were close, the four stood at the rooftops as they watched the White Fang soldiers in their usual doings._

" _Hmf, those Faunus won't know what hit them." Uva scoffed as he went into his Greeed form. "_ _ **Now let us begin our takeover."**_ _His horns sparked along with his bladed forearm._

" _Let's begin then." Kazari agreed as the four went into their Greeed forms and jumped down from the rooftop._

 _Some of the White Fang soldiers took notice of them as they were shocked to see creatures that weren't Grimm but had full on details of animals. "What the hell are you!?" one exclaimed as the other ran inside the building._

" _ **You will all know soon enough."**_ _Uva answered before he cut down the White Fang soldier as Gamel busted down the door._

" _ **Gamel, play with the Faunus**_ ," _Mezul commanded as she pointed at the White Fang soldiers._

" _ **Yay! Play!**_ " _Gamel cheered as he ran at the White Fang soldiers and knocked them into the air like a bowling ball would to do pins._

 _Kazari avoided a chainsaw attack from one White Fang soldiers and then blasted them backwards with an intense burst of air. "_ _ **Too slow."**_ _he said as he punched one back with a brutal punch._

 _Deep within the base, the White Fang soldier was running to the main room before he slammed the door opened. "We need to get out of here!" he warned in panic._

 _The individuals he was speaking to was the criminal Roman Torchwick, a black-haired woman with the red dress, and a man who was wearing a grimm mask with red hair and a black and red suit with a ninjato by his side._

 _Outside, Mezool was blasting water at the White Fang soldiers. One of them jabbed at her with a sword, but it went through harmlessly as she turned her body into water._

" _ **Naughty, naughty."**_ _Mezool wagged her finger before she dissolved into water and flowed into the White Fang soldier's mouth and nose. His entire body slowly bloated up before finally exploding into gore. Mezool solidified herself and washed off the blood from her body. Seeing Uva about to electrocute the White Fang, she lightly blasted them with water._

 _Uva used his horns to electrocute more soldiers and with the water soaking their clothes delivered a much more brutal death as they were fried._

" _Didn't need your help," Uva scoffed._

" _ **Of course not. I thought it would be a bit more fun**_ _," Mezool laughed. She watched as Gamel made a pile of dead White Fang soldiers to make a fort from their bodies. He clapped in amusement at what he had done. "_ _ **Looks like Gamel's nearly done.**_ _"_

 _They heard footsteps in which Uva looked and saw a faunus with red hair, wearing a black suit with a red shirt under it. He also noticed that he was wearing a Grimm mask and a ninjato in his grip._

" _ **Hmph, you think you can challenge us, Faunus?"**_ _the Insect Greeed questioned._

" _ **More toys?**_ _" Gamel asked hopefully as he stood next to Mezool, already having grown bored with his corpse fort._

" _ **More like a simple fight to me."**_ _Kazari yawned as he watched Uva and the Faunus stare down, showing that he is challenging Uva. This reminded him of those in the past that tried to challenge the Insect Greeed. "_ _ **This ought to be fun."**_ _he turned his head a bit and noticed the woman in red spectating in the shadows, however he knew from seeing her shows that she is running the show; Now his plan can go into business._

" _Who are you monsters and what gives you the right to come here!" the man demanded._

" _ **The right? Tch, you Faunus are nothing but weapons, tools to this planet."**_ _Uva scoffed as he got his bladed forearm ready. "_ _ **We are more powerful than your kind ever were. You were just an accident."**_

 _The man gritted his teeth before he sped towards Uva but the Insect Greeed saw this coming as he blocked the attack and kicked the Faunus back. "_ _ **Pathetic."**_

 _Uva charged head on as he used his arm to strike the Faunus as he used the ninjato to defend himself. The Faunus countered Uva's next attack before using his ninjato to strike him multiple times, causing the Insect Greeed to stumble back a bit. Uva couldn't help but have a type of smirk on his mandibles due to the fact that even with the opponent's weapon, Aura, and Dust, he was ill-equipped to hurt the latter._

 _The bull faunus had a smirk knowing that he damaged Uva yet he couldn't see any wounds of the latter, showing that his own blade couldn't cut through its skin. 'How tough is their skin…?' he thought as he blocked Uva's next attack._

 _The Bull Faunus struck Uva by the leg before sending him skidding across the ground. The Insect Greeed got up and shook his head a bit before getting into a stance, both warriors circling as the White Fang soldiers and the Greeed watched._

 _With that said, Uva's horns sparked before all the electricity has gone onto the Faunus' weapon, delivering shocks onto him. But, he took notice of the grin on his opponent._

 _The sword began to absorb his electricity and the red markings on the bull Faunus' suit and mask began to glow brighter. Being kicked back, Uva saw the Faunus attacking him in speed that doesn't surpass Kazari's but it was somewhat a powerful hit._

 _Uva was a bit surprised that his challenger has a semblance that absorbs energy and uses it to increase his speed and power._

 _The two clash once more as their power was somewhat even but it still didn't change the fact that Uva had the upper hand due to experience._

" _ **Quite skilled you are but…"**_ _He soon caught the Faunus' blade between his blades forearm before he got hold of his neck. "_ _ **Not strong enough to defeat me."**_

 _The bull Faunus was shocked, his semblance and attacks were suppose to exceed his opponents but this thing actually kept up with it. Just how powerful were these things!? "Who...What are you…?"_

" _ **We are the Greeed."**_ _Uva answered. "_ _ **And we are taking over your operations, White Fang."**_ _He threw him to the wall. "_ _ **Now you all work for us or die by our hands!"**_

 _All the White Fang soldiers were now worried. Their own leader lost in the fight and these creatures killed nearly half of their group within minutes. If they deny, they die. With no choice, they all dropped their weapons and raised their hands, surrendering._

 _The Bull faunus growled in anger but if he attacks, he too will die within a second by the monster in front of him. "... fine…" he surrendered._

 _Uva looked at Mezool, Gamel, and saw Kazari wasn't here. He huffed knowing that Kazari got bored of this._

 _Meanwhile with Kazari, he followed the woman until they were in the other side of the headquarters before he called out. "_ _ **You know, I have to admit. You are as manipulative as you look."**_ _he commented as he began to circle the woman. "_ _ **I take it you are the one who is, well was, running the show?"**_

" _Was?_ _ **"**_ _the woman cocked an eyebrow._

" _ **You see. Right now you're under 'new management'. Our management,"**_ _Kazari purred. "_ _ **But, I have better plans than working with… my allies."**_

 _Cinder could see in the menacing red eyes that Kazari is planning to betray his fellow comrades. "I take it you are interested in helping?"_

 _A golden aura enveloped Kazari as his body dissolved into Cell Medals before he reverted to his human disguise. "Perhaps a change of appearance will be more reassuring." He grinned "Now, we can discuss a proper plan that will not only benefit me but for you as well."_

 _Cinder soon had a smirk on her face from hearing this. A possible ally for her plans and from seeing their attacks, she knew that Kazari would be perfect for her plans. "Cinder. Cinder Fall." she introduced herself._

" _Kazari." he responded as he walked with the woman. "Now, I should warn you something. We Greeed may be powerful against you and those Faunus animals but we have one enemy that can… destroy the plans."_

 _This got Cinder interested and curious. Who is powerful enough to hurt these beings and how? "Who can hurt you?"_

 _Kazari pulled out a Scroll he stole a while back and revealed a photo of two individuals. "OOO and a traitor to us Greeed, Ankh."_

 _Cinder took notice of the young man in the photo, seeing him with and without the armor as well as photos of him delivering damage to Uva and Gamel. Especially photos of other forms he took on with the armor. Seeing this, Cinder could use the young man for her plans as well and with the Kazari person, her plans will surely go easily._

 _She had an evil smirk on her face. 'So he is the rumored fighter that fights them.' she thought._

* * *

It was now Wednesday and I was sleeping soundly in my bed until I heard a knock on the door. I got up and looked at the time showing that it is 8:00am. With a few grumbles, I got out of bed and walked to the door to see who it was. I was greeted with nothing but a box on the ground.

I rubbed my eyes before grabbing the box and noticed it had a bow and a note. I knew who it was from since the bow on the box read 'Kougami' all over it. I looked at the note and read it.

" _These are the new Candroids that my company made for you and your friends. Enjoy them and Happy Birthday!"_

I sweatdropped on the last part before looking at the box. SInce he said it was for me, Team RWBY, and Team JNPR, I decided to send them messages on my Scroll before walking back to my room.

After getting myself cleaned up and Ankh waking up, I heard a knock on the door again and answered it, seeing both teams. "Hey you guys." I greeted.

"Hey, Enrique. DId something happen?" Ruby asked.

I pointed behind me, making them notice the box on my desk. "Kougami sent a package and it was meant for us."

"Is there another cake!" Ruby drooled.

I shrugged before letting both teams enter the room as I walk to the desk to open the box. Cutting it open, I got out the items and to my surprise it was four clear boxes; three of them holding dark blue cans with a symbol of an eel while the fourth box held a yellow can.

"Are those cans?" Weiss quirked an eyebrow.

I gave Team RWBY and Team JNPR the two boxes that held the three blue cans for both teams while I had my own along with the yellow can. "Let's see what they are." I insisted as we got the cans out of the boxes.

We all opened the tabs on the blue cans, only for them to open up sideways, revealing them to be snake-like candroids.

"Aah!" Weiss screamed, dropping the Candroid. "Snakes!?"

"Snakey!" Nora squealed in joy.

Ankh smacked his forehead. "Those aren't snakes you idiots. Those are Unagi." he corrected with annoyance

"Una-what?" Jaune asked in confusion.

"In translation, eels."

"Those don't look like eels!" Weiss pointed at the Unagi Candroids that were on the ground as she was on my bed, freaked out.

"They look cool." Yang grinned. "So what do they do?"

"Well if you use three Unagi Candroids, they can constrict your target and give them a shock." I explained.

Ruby's eyes sparkled at the three Candroid that her team received. "I can't wait to try them out!" she squealed in excitement before looking at the yellow canin my hand. "So what about that one?"

I looked at it for a moment before pulling the tab. After a minute, we blinked because nothing happened but we saw it move a bit before it popped opened, revealing a tiger head and four metal legs and roared.

"Aww so cute!" Ruby and Weiss cooed.

"This is the Tora Candroid." I explained.

"What does it do?" asked Blake.

"Well…" I rubbed the back of my head. "It can grow to become a large wheel and attach to the RideVendor, making a sentient motorcycle."

"WHAT!?"

"Are you telling me that this cute little thing can grow into a large wheel for your motorcycle!?" Weiss exclaimed, shocked upon the information.

"And make your bike alive!?"

"Yeah and it can shoot as well." I added.

Yang now had a grin etched on her lips. "I definitely gotta get me one of those Candroids." No doubt that Yang wants to use it for her motorcycle.

I chuckled as I looked at the Tora Candroid. I just hope it doesn't go buck wild like in the series.

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Tako (x2)**

 **Sai (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

 **Zou (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"Getting gifts?" Ankh repeated with interest in his eyes.

"Ankh, what's wrong?" I asked, seeing his reaction when he noticed the blind girl.

"What do you desire the most?" he asked, presenting a Cell Medal.

 **Next Time:** Toride Vendor, Christmas, and Ankh's Past

* * *

 **A/N:** Well that is it for this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as well as the preview of the next chapter. The next chapter will take place before the Volume 2 Arc and will be uploaded exactly on the 24th of December. Anyways, I will see you all in the next chapter. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	13. Chapter 13: Toride, Christmas, Ankh Past

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the thirteenth chapter of OOO! And in this chapter, it takes place before the Volume 2 arc and this is a Christmas special as well. Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]).

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and I hope you all have a happy new year since I will be gone for a bit to celebrate (December 24-25, 31 and January 1st) but you can still send me PM. Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we?

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _As the night progressed for Ankh and Enrique, the Bird Greeed was moving a bit to scratch his back as he slept but also experiencing for the first time he never thought to expect, a dream._

 _Ankh was seeing around him, within his dreams, the village within the Lost Kingdom 800 years ago. He was watching his full former human form walk amongst the people before noticing the little blind girl who was being helped by her mother._

 _He watched the two continue on with their lives until they were cornered by criminals much to his disgust. "_ _ **Oi!"**_ _he shouted to them as he went into his human form._

 _Now the criminals attention were focused on Ankh. "Stay out of this punk if you know what's good for you!"_

 _Ankh merely frowned before he delivered a fatal strike onto the first criminal. He looked at the other criminal before he dodged a strike from the latter. He grabbed the man's arm before twisting it, making the man cry in pain. Kicking him down, he saw the guards take the two. "Take them away." he said to the guards._

 _They nodded before they left with the criminals who were in handcuffs._

" _Thank you, mister." the blind girl thanked._

" _Thank you."_

 _Ankh looked at them before he looked at the girl before saying, "It is what I do…"_

 _Ankh continues to see his days of his life back in the past, not to mention his times visiting the blind girl and teach her on what is around her. Seeing her happy gave him the lost feeling he hadn't had in a long time. However as his dreams continue, he soon saw that he was in the battlefield alongside his fellow Greeed._

 _The Yummies they created were killing many, innocent lives much to his dismay. As he walked amongst the ground, if he can move his eyes, they were filled with shock and horror. One of the casualties was the little blind girl he befriended. "_ _ **N-No…"**_ _he muttered in shock. He quickly ran to her but felt everything went black._

 _He looked around the dark space as he heard voices._

" _Why didn't you save me, Ankh?! Why?"_

" _I thought you were my friend?"_

" _You promised that nothing bad will happen to me!"_

 _Ankh placed his claws on his head, trying to ignore the voices of the little girl. He just can't forget this, why can't he forget!?_

" _Why didn't you protect my mommy when I was left all alone?!"_

" _Why, Ankh!? Why!?"_

 _He saw in his hands was blood of a human and looked below and saw the dead girl as if he was the one who killed her._ _ **"N-N-NOOOO!"**_ _He yelled._

* * *

 _Ankh quickly opened his eyes as he sat up from his nest. He was breathing heavily as he noticed his Greeed arm present. "What is this…!?" he muttered quietly. What was this? Was this the way a human experiences in their sleep? The so called dreams that humans experience as they sleep?_

 _He looked at his other hand. "Is it because I am in this puppet that I am experiencing this?" he questioned himself. Above all else, why go through that moment when he met the little girl and saw her death in the battlefield. Was this a way telling him that he is starting to experience what the humans go through?_

 _He shook his head, disbelieving that he is experiencing human traits since it is all in that puppet he is possessing. He lowered his head to check on his so called student and saw he was still sleeping but he also took notice of small glimpse of tears. He huffed knowing that he sees this all the time whenever he notices the young man sleep._

 _But still, to Ankh it somewhat felt like what he heard Enrique said about Blake and Weiss; two sides of the same coin. He went back to sleep, ignoring whatever dreams that this puppet he is in, is making him go through. "Stupid flesh puppet…" he muttered quietly before he went back to sleep._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 13: Toride Vendor, Christmas, Ankh's Past**

A new morning, with only 3 days before the new semester starts as I was stretching my arms. Getting out of my bed, I walked to the closet to choose which clothes I should wear. When I grabbed my black, collared jacket, I looked at it with a smile since I never gone out without it. Once I put on my jacket, I looked at the top bunk and saw that Ankh was still asleep. "Hey Ankh, wake up." I informed.

He simply waved off as he got up and jumped off his bunk. I took notice of his eyes that showed he didn't get much sleep. He looks a little tired now that I noticed.

"Didn't get much sleep?" I asked.

"None of your business." He answered with a hint of annoyance.

Geez, what is wrong with him today?

I went then grabbed two of my Candroids which was the Tora and Taka Candroids and put them in the pockets of my jacket before walking out of the dorm room.

As I walked around, I noticed some decorations here and there and they were all too familiar. "Christmas lights…?" I muttered in surprise. This world actually celebrates Christmas.

"Hey Enrique! Ankh!"

I turned my head and saw Ruby walking up to me. "Hey Ruby." I smiled. "What's with the Christmas lights?"

"You know the holiday?" She asked, surprised.

I nodded before I looked around and saw no one thankfully. "Yeah. Back in my world it is an international holiday that is celebrated." I answered.

"Cool! So, Merry Christmas!" She cheered.

"What makes this holiday so joyful?" Ankh questioned.

"To be with everyone you care about and you often get gifts from under the Christmas tree." Ruby squealed in joy. I smiled upon Ruby's reaction. She really enjoys Christmas.

"Getting gifts?" Ankh repeated with interest in his eyes.

"Yeah! On Christmas Eve, people often receive presents and on Christmas Day they get to open them." Ruby responded. "So Yang and I are heading back to Patch to celebrate with my dad."

I winced a bit before I did my best to let out a smile. "That sounds nice, Ruby." I commented before looking at Ankh. "You can go on ahead, Ankh…"

As I was about to walk away, it was then that Ruby's smile faltered. "Enrique I'm sorry."

I ignored it as I walked away with a sad look.

* * *

" _Hmph, he still misses them?" Ankh huffed._

 _Hearing Ankh's words made Ruby upset and glare at him. "That's not nice Ankh." She said. "You don't know anything about what it is like."_

" _Yeah? Then how come you und-" then it clicked before he looked at her. "So_ you _knew how it is like…"_

 _She didn't say anything for a moment before saying, "But it is not important for you since you said you don't care about anything. I can see why you don't get presents."_

 _This made Ankh's eye twitch._

" _You don't know anything about me," he scoffed._

" _Because you never let us try to know you." She countered. "You are always mean to us. Even though Enrique often relies on you he still has his troubles."_

" _Well, that's what you humans are. You just cause trouble. Even the Greeed were the result of a greedy human causing trouble." He turned around. "I had enough with this.." He soon left and went to the bullhead to explore Vale to learn of any whereabouts of the three unknown Core Medals from the journal that Enrique discovered._

 _Getting the book out of his Greeed Arm, he flipped through the pages to learn more but his thoughts were soon interrupted with a sound of metal hitting something. He turned his head to the direction and his eyes slowly widen._

 _It was a girl with shoulder-length pink hair, a light blue blouse, and a shin-length skirt with a cane in her right hand, but from what he could see, the girl was wearing sunglasses and was using the cane to navigate. She was blind._

 _Ankh froze as he saw the blind girl trip and fall. She was trying to find her cane. He then walked over and picked up her cane before he handed it to her._

" _Ah, my cane," the girl smiled as she grasped it and helped herself up. "Thank you." Her sunglasses had slipped down a bit and he could see the dull grey eyes staring blankly at nothing. He also took notice of slight signs of scarring over them as if something attacked her that resulted with her blindness._

 _This made Ankh mentally lose his focus. Seeing her dull grey eyes and innocent face was seemingly too much for his own mind. It was the same look he was given when he met that little girl 800 years ago._

'Damn it… Why am I remembering this..?!' _He growled in thought. Why now? Why remember them as he looks at the eyes of this blind human? "It is what I do… Can't see someone like you keep searching for your… cane."_

" _Well, thank you again. My name is Sara."_

 _He was quiet for a moment before he said his name. "Ankh…" He responded with his head turned away. "What brings someone like you here?"_

" _I was visiting my friends." She answered with a smile. "What about you? What brings you here?"_

" _Research." He simply answered._

" _But shouldn't you relax due to today being Christmas Eve?" She questioned._

 _He wanted to ignore her but he just listened. Why is he listening to a mere human girl? "I have my reasons…"_

" _Just don't work yourself too much, Ankh. You wouldn't want to be tired." she giggled._

 _Those words… it was the same words that the little girl told him when he was doing his daily scouting to make sure no one causes trouble in the Lost Kingdom. "I assure you I won't." he assured but in his mind, '_ What the hell is wrong with me?!'

" _Alright, it was nice meeting you Ankh." Sara smiled before she walked away with the help of her cane. Ankh watched her walk away before he slammed his Greeed arm to the wall, creating a small crack. "Why am I remembering this!? Stupid flesh puppet!"_

* * *

I was sitting by the tree as I watch most of the student heading to the bullhead. Since it is Christmas Eve, they were all heading back to visit their families and spend time with them.

Me? I decided to stay since I don't have a family to go back to. The 5th Christmas to celebrate with no family. To me, it feels both painful and sad inside.

"Enrique…?" A familiar voice called out.

I turned my head and saw Blake. "Oh… Hey Blake…" I muttered before looking away.

"What's wrong?"

"... It is the fifth Christmas that I will celebrate without my family." I answered.

"What about the person who took care of you, Mr. Stuart?"

I sighed before looking down. "He often works during those days…" I answered. "... So I'm usually alone during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. I never had much of a Christmas…"

"Oh…" She muttered.

"Shouldn't you be celebrating?" I asked. "You did say your parents are and I quote, 'somewhere in Vytal.'"

This made Blake quiet for a moment as she muttered something that I couldn't hear. "Huh?" I tilted my head.

She looked away with a sad look. "I don't even know if they are still alive..."

This made my eyes soften. She did say that she used to be with the White Fang almost her whole life back at the docks. "Blake…" I muttered with sympathy. I got up and placed my hand on her shoulder. "Don't think too much about it." I comforted. "I know how it feels, but you can't let that thought cloud your mind."

She looked at me as I give out a small smile. "Just remember that your parents will always be with you even if they are far away."

"Thank you, Enrique." she smiled.

"We are friends after all, Blake. We look out for each other." I smiled. "If you need to talk about anything, you are welcome to talk to me."

She nodded before she walked away. Just as she left, my Scroll received a notification, making me get it out of my pocket. I looked and saw that it was a message from Ozpin saying that he wants me to see him. I raised an eyebrow in curiosity so I decided to head back inside Beacon to see Headmaster Ozpin. Once there, I saw Ankh walking up to the door as well. "You too, Ankh?"

"Seems like it. Don't know why the old man wants to see us." he answered.

I knocked on the door before I heard, "Enter", prompting us to enter his office. "Hey Professor, you wanted to see us?" I asked.

He was looking at a screen on his desk as he had a smile. "What are you smiling about, old man?" Ankh asked.

He rotated the screen, making it face us as it showed Ankh and a girl who was shockingly blind. _"_ I saw what you did. So you do have a kind side." Ozpin said as he showed the footage of Ankh helping the blind girl.

"Ankh…?" I looked at him surprised. This was something that I never thought he would have done for the Bird he is.

"It is none of your business." Ankh growled before looking at Ozpin. "What gives you a right to know about me despite already knowing that I am an incomplete Greeed?"

"It is because most reasons the people act is due to events that happened to them in the past." Ozpin explained. "And you, Ankh, are a being who went through more than training as a veteran Hunter…" He looked at him, right at the very Greeed's eyes. "You experienced something you never thought would happen that changed you."

This made me think back to the way he watched the video and the look in his eyes. It is almost as if…

"Ankh… You lost someone didn't you…?" I asked without hesitation. I knew that look all too well.

This made Ankh quiet before he turned around and walked to the door. "Wait Ankh, I-" I started before he pushed me to the ground.

"Don't…" He glared. "I don't need your apologies or your damn sympathy. All those things don't matter to me anymore."

He left the room with the door slammed closed. So that was why he was a jerk to everyone. "So that was why you stare at the horizon…" I muttered. His eyes showed loss when he saw that video.

He pushed people away because he didn't want to get hurt again. And the reason why he kept on telling me to train harder was to prevent the same mistake that changed him. Deep down, I know he still cares about people but seeing from this… this is why I chose to help people.

For them to be with the people they care about.

I turned around after I stood up to look at Ozpin. "Was that why you wanted to see me, Professor?" I asked.

"Not only that Enrique." He took a sip of his coffee before he pressed a button as a video screen came down and played videos of the three Full Combos that I have and used. "You have been improving since the day you arrived here and seeing this shows you _do_ have potential." He continued. "You might even reach the same level as Team RWBY and Team JNPR within the school year, or…"

"Or what?"

"An even greater level that any Huntsman never could achieve since Ankh is training you. It's not everyday a student like yourself gets to be taught by the _first_ Hunter." He smiled. "Ankh was only training the students with little effort while he teaches you with more training than I have seen."

He gestured to the video of Ankh helping the blind girl. "This must be why he has trained you further than any student in the academy; to prevent the same mistake he must have done all those years ago." He continued. "The power of OOO that you wield is also something that might catch others interest is what also concerns me."

I could understand what he meant since the Multi-King nearly changed the fate of Remnant 800 years ago. "I assure you Professor, I won't go down that path the king followed or let anyone use it for their gain." I assured with determination. "I promised myself that I will help people and save lives and that is what I will keep on doing not as a normal person but…" I looked at him in the eyes. "As a huntsman-in-training and as a Kamen Rider."

This made Ozpin smile before he took a sip from his mug. "You may go now."

"Thanks Professor." I nodded before I walked to the door.

"And Enrique."

I turned my head as he spoke up. "I'm sure your family are proud for what you are doing."

I couldn't help but show a small smile. Ozpin saw right through me and I guess he could tell what I have been through just by looking at me. I opened the door and left the room.

"I should find Ankh and see if he is alright." I muttered. Walking to the bullhead and landing in Vale, I looked around to find a RideVendor so I can make my search for him quicker.

Upon seeing one by a building, I grabbed a Cell Medal and slot it into it before making it convert into bike form. Just as I was gonna get on, I felt something shaking my jacket. "Huh?"

I dug through my pockets, only to find the Tora Candroid popping out. "Hey!" I exclaimed before I grabbed it but it jumped onto the top of the RideVendor and roared with a glow.

Oh no this is not good.

The RideVendor began to split apart a bit with the front wheel splitting in half before going to the back wheel. The Candroid grew into the size of a wheel before it rolled itself back and attached to the RideVendor with two metal parts coming out as the center part detached before tilting and attached to the front part of the RideVendor that was in the shape of a lion's mouth. Once complete, the red lights glowed like eyes before it roared.

This was the TorideVendor!

It roared again before it drove away, pouncing a couple of times. "This is just great…" I groaned. Now I have to chase after the TorideVendor that is on the run and going berserk. I just hope Ankh doesn't get mad at me.

* * *

 _Ankh decided that he needed to be alone. He didn't want to see anyone or talk to anyone. He just needed to be alone without anyone pestering him._

 _A long time ago, he wasn't the cold and selfish Greeed he was today. In fact, he used to have kindness. However, that kindness only led to pain and since then he had buried his kindness within him. He was a Greeed and all he should care about was becoming whole. He shouldn't care about humans. He didn't care about humans. Not since..._ _ **her**_ _._

 _Her dull grey eyes, the way that the Sara girl looked at him. It was as if she was the little girl he met all those centuries ago but older._

 _He quickly shook his head, trying to not remember it. He took notice of people putting up decorations, even seeing some couples walking around. "Tch…" He scoffed, not caring about what is going on but he does have his interest of this holiday. Receiving gifts from people, now that is something that must happen for the Greeed._

 _He took notice of a dust cloud heading towards his direction, causing him to squint his eyes. "What in the-" he soon saw that it was a RideVendor but no one was driving it and it was growling like a lion. His eye twitched knowing full well what happened. "Enrique, you are an idiot!" he shouted as the TorideVendor went past him._

 _He looked back and saw Enrique as he ran past him before saying, "Hey Ankh! Sorry, can't talk right now!"_

 _Ankh was gonna go after him until he heard familiar tapping in which he turned around and saw Sara. "Sara…?" he said out loud._

 _This made her stop walking as she turned to the direction of his voice. "Ankh? Is that you?"_

 _He grumbled before he spoke up. "Yes…"_

 _This made Sara smile._

* * *

Great now Ankh saw the TorideVendor and I am sure he was gonna scold me. At least I am trying to catch up with the living bike. It pounced once again as it jumped over a crate while it was driving itself around like crazy.

Maybe I should call the others but they are probably with their families since today is Christmas Eve. Damn it, how am I gonna go after the TorideVendor when it is too quick! With sudden realization, I had to the urge to facepalm knowing that I didn't think of that before I got out the O-Driver and put in Taka, Tora, and Cheetah. After tilting the buckle, I used the O-Scanner to scan them before saying, "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **CHEETAH!**

Now in my OOO armor, I used Cheetah Legs to chase after the berserk TorideVendor. Once I had it in my sights, I leaped over a crate before I landed on the TorideVendor but it stopped before turning its 'head' to me, growling.

"Y-You need to stop!" I ordered.

It roared before it began to make attempts to get me off it. "Hey, hey, hey!" I panicked as I try to hold onto the handles of the bike. It began to spin around, pounce, and act like a bucking bronco as methods to get me off. Now I know how Eiji feels when he had to go after this bike.

* * *

 _Kazari whistled as he walked around town in his human form. While this holiday was meant to remind people to be selfless and giving, it didn't mean everybody truly embodied this spirit. Looking around, he could see people with tons of desire surrounding him._

 _He spotted a child crying, throwing a tantrum since his parents refused to buy him the toy he wanted._

 _He saw someone asking for donations while in truth he simply wanted to keep the money for himself._

 _He saw the people in the shops enjoying themselves with the amount of lien they were getting from all the people spending on Christmas presents._

 _Desire, desire, desire...it was all around him._

 _Uva didn't want to be out in the cold so he stayed at their new lair which was the White Fang Base they took over 2 days ago. As for Mezool and Gamel, the two of them were off doing some sort of inane activity. Mezool doted on Gamel too much, treating him like her own child, while Gameru ate up all the attention. He wouldn't be surprised to see them someplace where Gamel was busy stuffing his face as Mezool praised him for doing nothing._

 _Kazari frowned. Now where was he supposed to find a decent source of desire._

 _Suddenly, he heard cries of surprise and saw OOO riding by on a hybrid motorcycle. The motorcycle roared as it sped down the street. Pedestrians moved out of the way of the berserk vehicle. Kazari grinned as he saw OOO._

" _And a Merry Christmas to me." Kazari's eyes flashed as he went to follow by going to the rooftops and went into his Greeed form._

* * *

I was holding on for dear life as I tried to get the TorideVendor to calm down. Really, this just wasn't my day. I kept yelling, begging for it to stop, but it ignored me.

And I think I was starting to hear police sirens. Crap, the cops probably heard what was going on and was moving to stop it.

So much for keeping out of trouble today.

Suddenly, a humanoid shape dropped down from the rooftops. I didn't have time to notice it before it slammed into me and struck me in the chest. I let out a cry as I was thrown off the TorideVendor. Once it knew I was no longer on its back, the berserk bike sped away, leaving me behind.

"Oi! Wait for me!" I shouted.

" **I think you have other things to worry about, OOO,"** said a familiar voice as he leaned against a lamppost.

"Kazari!" I gasped.

" **So, lost control of your bike. Such a pity,"** Kazari chuckled.

"I don't have time to play with you, Kazari," I told him.

" **Sorry, but you need to make time!"** Kazari lunged at me and slashed me across the chest, sending me reeling. **"I want my Core Medals back, so hand them over!"**

I slowly got up. "Over my dead body…" I growled as I got into a fighting stance. I know that Kazari got back one of his Cores but I didn't want to let history repeat itself nor let Kazari hurt people.

He tried to attack both crests of Tora and Cheetah but I used its advantage to dodge it with Cheetah legs. "You aren't the only one you can go fast, Kazari." I had a smirk behind my helmet as I managed to deliver a slash with Tora Claws across his chest, spilling some Cell Medals.

" **Hmph, you really are a troublesome kid."** he drawled. " **But I know this is the only the beginning."**

"The beginning of what?" I questioned.

" **Oh, you'll see OOO."** he 'smirked'. He charged forward as he delivered multiple attacks but with the help of Taka, I barely have time to dodge most of his attacks knowing full well he wants his Core Medals back.

He punched me one last time as it sent me skidding across the ground. "Grh…" I cringed as I saw the crests flashing a bit. "Guess I have to do this…" I muttered as I got out the Lion Medal.

" **Don't even think-"**

I quickly changed Medals before I scanned the three yellow Medals.

 **LION!**

 **TORA!**

 **CHEETAH!**

 **RATA RATA...RATORA~TAH!**

Now I was donned in the Scorching Combo, RaToraTah. I know my body is getting used to the Full Combos but I need to drive Kazari away to prevent harm to anyone, knowing that a holiday like this is something Kazari would go for.

 **(Cue RaToraTah Combo - Ride On Right Time)**

" **You are gonna get it now, OOO."** he said, calmly but trying to hide the anger knowing that I am using his full power. He used his speed but I too managed to see it as we began to clash claws onto each other as I tried to hold my ground.

Our claws clashed once again as I mustered my strength to prevent him from attacking me. Time to test the one method. The Liondas Helm began to glow as this startled Kazari before I increased the light more, causing him to let go. I guess _he_ gets affected when it is used against him.

Kazari staggered back as he rubbed his 'eyes'. " **This ain't over, OOO. Let this be a statement. This is just the beginning of something you won't expect."** he stated. " **Let this be a… gift that you get to keep them… for now."** He then escaped by going to the rooftops, away from my view.

I heaved a sigh knowing that I have to chase after TorideVendor again. But how can I control it went it has an instincts of a lion. It's not like I can… tame it… Oh god, this was probably one of the most dumbest moments that I had just experienced. How stupid was I to not remember that Eiji used RaToraTah to control the TorideVendor.

Now I feel like an idiot and Ankh would have agreed to that.

I used Cheetah Legs to go after the TorideVendor one last time until it was in my sights. "Hope to God this works…" I muttered, no _prayed_ that this method works since this TorideVendor might be different. I jumped until I landed on the seat as it began its attempts to toss me off again.

"Alright, you need to calm down and shut your damn engine!" I ordered as I revved the handle as I can feel some of the energy that the armor was giving me was being lifted off my shoulders a bit. "Now stop!"

In my head, ' _I hope it stops…'_

The sentient vehicle began to glow yellow along with my armor and before I knew it, the TorideVendor actually stopped moving as it calmed itself down. "Thank god…" I slumped back as I gently patted the bike knowing that it is alive.

 **(End Song)**

"Alright, now that you are calm and nearly made me run across the entire city to go after you, let's head back to Beacon." I said to it. It growled in confirmation before I made it drive me back to the landing zone to take me back to Beacon.

* * *

 _Back at Beacon, Ruby gathered her team and Team JNPR for her 'master plan'._

 _What was it? Well, it was a Christmas Party of course._

 _The party was also for Enrique and Ankh._

 _Her excuse was that Enrique would never be able to spend Christmas with his family. As for Ankh, well, this would be his first Christmas. Even if he was a jerk, that didn't mean he shouldn't have a Merry Christmas. After all, Ruby was one of the few people who believed that Christmas was a time for people to set aside their differences and have fun._

 _Team CFVY also volunteered to help with the preparations._

 _Thanks to Team RWBY and JNPR, they sneaked into the dorm that Enrique and Ankh slept in and this was the first time that CFVY gets to see what the duo's room looks like. To them, it was a large dorm, larger than the average dorms they sleep in since it was only two people sleeping in this room. There was also a makeshift bunk, no doubt that Ankh sleeps on the top bunk because of the large red sheet on it. Ankh did have a thing for the color red._

 _For Weiss, this would be a new experience. She never had a Christmas with friends before. The only kind of Christmas she had experience with what at her family's manor where her father would invite partners and associates. She never liked them but she forced herself to display the proper behavior befitting a Schnee. At least she had Winter to talk to, but since her sister started working with Atlas' military force, she was rarely home. Their father never approved of the path Winter took but she stayed in touch with Weiss._

" _You sure this will work, Ruby?" Yang asked was she set up some lights by the window._

" _I'm sure of it." she nodded. "After all I think we should celebrate Christmas with him so he won't be left out."_

" _Knowing that he has done so much for us, I agree with you, Ruby." Velvet said as she and Coco were putting up a small Christmas tree._

" _Let's send a message to Ankh and then surprise Enrique."_

 _Pyrrha nodded as she got her scroll out to send a message to Ankh to ask him to meet them in the dorm room._

 _With Ankh, he looked down at his Scroll and frowned. "Che," he clicked his tongue._

" _Something wrong, Ankh?" Sara asked._

" _I just got an invite to some stupid Christmas party," he answered._

" _Shouldn't you be happy?" she asked._

" _Happy?" he repeated. "I never had happiness because…"_

" _Because what?"_

" _It's not something you should hear." he said, trying to not remember for the flesh puppet is 'making' him remember those memories of the past._

" _You should go Ankh." Sara insisted. "I'm sure you can be happy to be with people that trust you. After all, you sound like a nice person."_

 _This made Ankh turn his head to her. "What?"_

" _I said you sound like a nice person." she smiled._

 _This was something he thought would never hear for 800 years. This girl, this blind human girl called him a nice person when he is a jerk to Team RWBY, JNPR, and to Enrique. He wasn't a nice person. He was simply training them so they could be useful tools for him. If you didn't take care of your tools, they would fail and break. Yet hearing this from Sara made him quiet. "Fine… I'll go to this party that I was invited to…" he huffed._

 _He then asked, "What about you? How are you spending the holidays?"_

" _I often go to the orphanage to visit." she answered._

" _I see…" he muttered. He looked at her for a moment. "Take care…" he turned around to walk away but in his mind,_ 'Why in the hell am I saying this to a human?!'

* * *

After a rough morning and afternoon of chasing a living bike and fighting Kazari, I made it back to Beacon with my energy not exhausted from the Full Combo. Gotta thank the TorideVendor for absorbing the energy. Last I heard from Ankh, he was already at the dorm.

I dug through my pocket to make sure I still have the five Core Medals and I still have them. When I entered the hall, it was fairly quiet since everyone was with their families. I sighed as I muttered, "I guess this will be the fifth Christmas alone…"

I made it to the dorm and I got out my Scroll to swipe over the lock, unlocking it. I opened the door and saw it was dark. "The heck?" I wondered before I reached for the light switch and turned on the lights.

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

I was startled to the sudden surprise. It was none other than Team RWBY, Team JNPR, and surprisingly Team CFVY. Ankh was on the top bunk with a twitching eyebrow and a Christmas hat on top if his head. No doubt that they made him wear it. The room was decorated with Christmas decorations even a small Christmas tree by the corner.

"What are you guys doing here? I thought you were with your families?" I asked, surprised that they are here.

"We called them to let them know that we were staying here." Yang explained.

"Besides Enrique, we thought it would be nice to celebrate Christmas with our friend." Ruby smiled. "We didn't want you to be left out on a holiday like this."

"You did a lot to help us out. We thought we return the favor." Coco said.

I was left speechless to hear this. My friends wanted to celebrate Christmas with me… I couldn't help but shed a few tears. I wiped away the tears with my sleeve before saying, "thanks you guys. This means a lot to me."

"Ugh, don't make it all mushy," Ankh complained.

Ruby pleaded, "Come on, Ankh. You promised to get into the Christmas Spirit!"

"I made no such promise!"

"At least enjoy the holiday, Ankh." Pyrrha said. "We are doing this for you too."

"Tch…" He huffed.

"What are we waiting for? Let's celebrate!" Ruby said.

"Yeah!" We all agreed in unison.

We then began to celebrate as we began to talk to one another, played some games, and ate some snacks. For me, I never had this much fun before on Christmas Eve at all. It felt like the void in my heart and mind slowly began to heal. It felt… Nice that I have friends that are there for me and I'm often there to help them out.

Ankh on the other hand didn't look like he was having much fun as he ate a snowman-shaped popsicle.

As midnight was coming to a close, we all watched the clock as the long hand was getting close to the 12. Once it did, it officially showed that it was December 25th, Christmas Day.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Ruby cheered as she sped out of the room before coming back with a present. "Here." she handed it to me. "All 12 of us got it for you."

"You guys got this for me…?" I asked, surprised. They nodded.

I slowly looked at the present before I opened it. I unwrapped it and saw it was a belt buckle with an engraving of the TaToBa symbol. "Knowing that you use TaToba, we thought we would use the symbol for the buckle engraving." Weiss explained.

I stared at it in awe knowing that the symbol was engraved in the buckle. Like Ruby with her buckle, a symbol that represents us is put onto a certain piece of our clothing.

Placing it down, I reached in the box and pulled it out and saw it was also a black jacket, similar to the one I have but there was a shoulder plate on the left shoulder and a metal brace on the sleeves.

"Plus we figured knowing you have a thing for black, collared jackets. Coco found the perfect jacket and we thought we made it to a part of a battle outfit." Yang added.

Removing my current jacket, I put on the new jacket. "It fits. It looks good, too" I smiled as I looked at it.

Ankh huffed but Ruby spoke up once more, "We also got something for you Ankh."

What felt like a full minute, Ankh stopped the moment he bit into his popsicle and quickly turned his head to the present. "Eh…?" he said with the popsicle in his mouth.

"You thought Enrique would be the only one to get a present?" Pyrrha grinned. "Despite being a jerk to us, we thought it would be nice for you to have one."

He reached for the present before he sat up from his bunk. Looking at it, he quickly unwrapped it as some of the wrappings fell on me. He opened it and pulled out, revealing it to be a shirt with the symbol of Taka embezzled in black. With that was a card. "What's this card?"

"It's a card for the local ice cream parlor knowing your love for ice cream and popsicles." Ruby explained.

He was quiet as he looked at the two items before he placed them back in the box.

"Now that's done, let's take a group picture." Ruby clapped her hands together.

The Scroll was set on a tripod. Jaune quickly set the timer and we all gathered together for a picture. I looked at Ankh. "You should join in the picture Ankh." I insisted.

"I rather not." he denied.

"Hurry, the timer is gonna be up!" Ruby pleaded.

Ankh growled for a moment before he jumped down from his bunk and joined in. "Say Remnant!" Ruby said.

"Remnant!" We said (except Ankh) in unison with the Scroll taking the picture. Jaune went to grab the Scroll to see the picture and his eyes widen. "Uhh…" he stuttered.

"Did we do something wrong?" Yang asked as Ankh went back to his bunk.

"Not that." he said before he showed us the photo. Everything was normal except one thing that made us jaw drop; Ankh had a small smile in the photo. We slowly looked at Ankh who was now fast asleep. "He actually…" Pyrrha started.

"Smiled…" I finished in complete surprise and shock. Did giving him a present made him smile for once? One thing is for sure, this was a Christmas for me to remember.

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Tako (x2)**

 **Sai (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

 **Zou (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

" _Ugh... you're no fun today." Mercury complained._

"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" She answered, pointing at her.

I couldn't help but have a grin on my face before I said those two words that I wanted to say in this moment, "FOOD FIGHT!"

* * *

 **A/N:** That is it for this chapter/Holiday special. Look forward to the beginning of the Vol. 2 arc in the next chapter. Also, I hope you guys have a merry Christmas and happy holidays. See you all later! Stay in the shadows everyone!


	14. Chapter 14: New Semester, New Friends

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the fourteenth chapter of OOO and this is where the Volume 2 arc begins! Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]).

I hoped you guys enjoyed the holidays and the new year that has begun. Anyways enough talk, let us begin the chapter now shall we?

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _A ship flies through the skies over Vale as the civilians were doing their usual routines or activities. The owner of the Dust shop "From Dust Till Dawn" is hanging a sign declaring its re-opening after the robbery/attack that happened back then. As he climbs down from his ladder, he stumbles and falls._

 _A feminine giggle was heard. "'Scuse me, sorry. I'm not really from around here." The old man looks as he was looking at was a thin female with medium-brown skin and dark-red eyes. Her hair is a light, mint-green cut with a straight fringe and bangs, as well as two long locks on each side, in the back. She wears two bronze-colored rings on her middle fingers as well as a pair of high-heeled shoes._

 _Her attire consisted of an intricate, exotic-looking white top and olive undershirt, on the back of which is her personal emblem. This emblem is in the shape of a cut gem. This was intended to be accompanied by white shorts, decorated with what appears to be a gold coin-plated belt, with four gold chains draping around her back from two of the coins and what seems to be a green loincloth. She also wore a gold, three-ring armband on her left arm and a string of gold beads near the same wrist. She was also wearing white pants and brown chaps that end at her calves and an overlong belt, twice-wrapped._

 _She helps him to his feet and asks while presenting a price of paper, "Would you mind pointing me in the direction of this shop?"_

 _The shopkeeper looked at it before nodding. "Hmm? Mm-hmm," he pointed at the direction she needed to go to._

 _The young woman walks away from the shop owner as both wave goodbye and passes by the large alley a voice spoke up, "I knew you were lost, Emerald." The voice came from a grey haired boy leaning against a wall. He is a well-built man with pale skin, silvery gray eyes and hair that is partially slicked back while unkempt at the front. He also wears a gray and black two-tone partial-zip jacket, that covers his upper body. He wears a single notched belt with what appears to be a sash or bandana draped over it. It is unclear whether his rerebraces are attached to his jacket._

 _The girl, now named Emerald, walked up to the boy with a wallet in hand, "Mercury, I will literally pay you to shut up."_

 _The boy, now named, Mercury looked at the wallet, "That's not your money."_

 _"But it could be yours for five minutes of silence."_

 _"Hmm, no deal," Mercury answered as Emerald looked at him angrily before walking away, "Whatever, you want me."_

 _The two of them walked through the streets toward their destination, bickering back and forth between each other. As they reached the store with the words Tukson's book trade written on it._

 _The two entered the store. The shop owner can be heard humming a tune. Mercury stops near the door to look at books while the young woman approaches the counter and rings a service bell._

" _Be right there!" Tukson's voice responded._

 _Emerald looks back at Mercury. The shop owner is seen through a set of double doors carrying stacks of books as he walks backwards and out toward the counter. "Welcome to 'Tukson's Book Trade', home to every book under the sun!" He sets the stacks down. "How may I…" Turning around, he gasps and hesitates upon the two of them as if he recognizes them. "How may I help you?"_

 _Although the book is open, Mercury is looking at Tukson. "Just browsing." He shuts the book._

" _Actually, I was wondering, do you have any copies of "The Thief and The Butcher"" she asked._

" _Yes we do."_

" _That's great." She responded excitedly._

" _Would you... like a copy?"_

" _No, just wondering," she replied as Mercury closes another book. "Oh, oh! What about 'Violet's Garden'? In paperback?"_

" _He's got it. Hardback too." Mercury produces a book_

" _Ooh, options are nice." Emerald smiled._

" _Eh, no pictures." Mercury closes the book. "Hey! Do you have any comics?_

" _Near the front."_

" _Oh, no, wait! What... about... "Third Crusade" Emerald asked once again._

 _This made Tukson hesitate, visibly unnerved. "Um... I…" Mercury and Emerald were eyeing him carefully. "...don't believe we carry that one._

 _Mercury slams another book shut. "Oh."_

" _What was this place called again?" She asked._

" _Tukson's Book Trade." responded Tukson._

" _And you're Tukson?"_

" _That's right."_

" _So then I take it that you're the one that came up with the catchphrase?" She wondered._

" _Yes." He nodded._

" _And, what was it again?" Mercury asked once again._

 _"Tukson's Book Trade, home to every book under the sun."_

" _Except the Third Crusade." He added_

" _It's just a catchphrase."_

" _It's false advertising!"_

" _You shouldn't make a promise you can't keep, Tukson." Emerald said as Mercury activates a switch near the entrance causing a front window to darken. "I hear that you're planning on leaving. Moving all the way to Vacuo."_

 _Mercury activates another switch and the window in the front door darkens. "Your brothers in the White Fang won't be happy to hear that." She continued as Mercury activates the third and final switch, darkening the last window as he smiles creepily at Tukson. "And neither are we... You know who we are, don't you?_

 _Tukson answered, "Yes."_

 _She asked another question, "And you know why we're here."_

 _"Yes."_

 _"So, are you going to fight back."_

 _"YES!" Unsheathing his claws, Tukson jumped on the desk and lunged at Emerald who simply ducked, allowing Mercury to kick Tukson straight into the wall._

* * *

 _After leaving the bookstore with the problem handled, Mercury continues to read the comic as Emerald spoke up. "I still can't believe that we have to work for that cat… Thing." She referred about the Feline Greeed._

" _Considering the fact that the news mentioned one of them demolishing a small Atlesian Army. I say we had no choice." Mercury shrugged. "But hey, at least he is helping Cinder with this. Even though his pals aren't aware that he is working alongside Cinder."_

" _Still…" She growled. She hated Kazari when Cinder introduced him to the two at another location. They were first left in shock that he wasn't human but an intelligent creature more powerful than the Faunus. "This better be worth it."_

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 14: Best Day Ever, Food Fight, New Friends**

It has been two days and now classes for the new semester start tomorrow. Ankh was not happy to the fact that he is gonna be teaching the students again along with some from other schools.

Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Ankh, and I were in the cafeteria eating lunch as Blake was looking at a book she has.

"Whatcha doin?" Yang asked looking at Blake's book, Blake however closed the notebook and finally answered.

"Nothing, just going over notes for last semester."

I took notice of a grape landing in Yang's mouth, who was smiling as she swallowed. "Lame." Yang replied to Blake before giving Nora a thumbs up. Nora did a good throw for Yang to catch the grape.

"How is it lame?" I questioned.

"Studying can be boring you know?" Yang explained before she caught another grape.

Nora giggles as she continues to toss grapes at Yang with her spoon. Yang catches the fruit with ease, giving Nora the thumbs up once again. Ruby, giving an enormous heave, slams a binder onto the table, catching us off guard. On the cover of the binder is written 'Vytal Festival Activities, Property of Weiss Schnee'. This has been hastily crossed out with a red marker pen, and with the same pen, a new title, "Best Day Ever Activities", has been written underneath.

Ruby cleared her throat before gesturing to us and said, "Ahem. Sisters, friends… Weiss and Ankh."

"Hey/Oi!" Weiss and Ankh exclaimed.

"For score and seven minutes ago I had a dream." Ruby proclaimed happily making me chuckle. Ruby was always up beat, it was sort of contagious at times.

"This ought to be good." Yang whispered before she catches another berry in her mouth.

"A dream that one day the seven of us would come together as a team and have the most fun anyone's ever had, ever!" Ruby stated clearly only for Weiss to ask, "Did you steal my binder?"

"I am not a crook." Ruby answered quickly, making peace signs with both hands. I chuckled knowing that it is Weiss' binder since the cover clearly shows that it is her binder.

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked.

"I'm talking about kicking off the semester with a bang!" She answered, pointing at her.

"I always kick my semesters off with a _Yang_." Yang said at an attempt to joke but only for us to shake our heads from her pun. An apple hit Yang's face along with a loud boo from Nora.

"Look guys it's been a good week and between more exchange students arriving and the tournament, our second semester is going to be great. But, classes start back up tomorrow. Which is why I've taken the time to schedule a series of wonderful events for us today." Ruby said motioning toward the over sized book.

Ankh and I looked at the book in disbelief knowing that it is a huge binder and god knows how many events Ruby has in store for us.

"That is a little overboard if you are thinking of doing all that, don't you think?" I questioned before taking a drink of my water.

"I don't know whether to be proud or scared of what you have in store." Weiss agreed as Yang got up and threw an apple back at Nora only to hit Ren. Blake sighed and turned toward Weiss.

"I don't know, I think I might sit this one out." Blake said.

"Sit out or not, I think however we spend this last day we should do it as a team." Weiss said before standing up. "I for one think that-" Weiss was abruptly cut off by the pie smacking her face.

Wondering who threw the pie, I looked at Nora who was pointing at Ren, blaming him when it was actually her who threw the pie.

I then had a grin on my face as I just realized where this is getting to. Team RWBY and JNPR took notice of my grin as well and had grins on their own.

I couldn't help but have the grin on my face before I said those two words that I wanted to say in this moment, "FOOD FIGHT!"

* * *

 _Meanwhile outside of the cafeteria, Sun Wukong was walking with a young man his age. He is a teenage boy with tan skin, dark blue eyes and messy light blue hair that is shaved on the sides and in the back, aka, an undercut. He wears a white dress shirt and black tie under a red jacket with a wide, upturned, black collar and a pair of gray jeans with black padding strapped to the sides. The back of his jacket displays a silver reticle. It was Sun's friend Neptune._

" _Man that's harsh," he said._

" _I know, we were fighting side by side. She was super fast and I threw a banana at the guy, which sounds gross, but it was awesome." Sun agreed._

" _Nice,"_

" _Right? And the best part is, she's a Faunus. But that's a secret, okay?" He added._

" _Got it."_

 _Sun leans in close in order to stress the importance of this secret. "And not a, "I'm gonna go tell Scarlet the second Sun turns his back secret", I'm talking secret secret."_

" _Whoa, chill out, man, okay? I got it." He assured._

" _You better." He then said, "I just don't want to screw this up, you know? The people here are the coolest! No offense to you guys._

" _None taken." Neptune waved off._

 _The two were unaware as they pass by the cafeteria windows which were splattered with food. At one point Jaune is the one who splattered into the window._

" _Also remember the news mention of those weird monsters that are almost like Faunus but all more evil looking?"_

" _Yeah I heard about it. Those things were always being beaten by an armored guy."_

" _Yeah, I actually got to meet him in person." He answered._

" _You met him?"_

" _He was all fighting face to face with one with his armor extending claws even beating it with a simple strike."_

" _Nice."_

 _The two soon got close to the entrance of the cafeteria. "They're just in here. I'm really excited for you to meet them. So be cool, okay? You're gonna be cool, right?" Sun asked._

" _Dude." Neptune crossed his arms while proving his point._

" _Good point."_

 _Sun and Neptune enter the cafeteria where students are heard screaming. Many students are shown stampeding out the door past Sun and Neptune, the latter of whom is looking quite worried as they saw that a food fight was occurring._

* * *

Standing tall on top of a stack of tables was Nora who was laughing crazily. I still wonder how they managed to do that but hey this a food fight. Things like this can turn out crazy.

"Ahahahahahaha! I'm queen of the castle! I'm queen of the castle!" Nora cheered.

In front of the "castle", Ruby was holding a carton of milk tightly in her fist. She raised her arm, pointing a finger at Team JNPR.

"Justice will be swift! Justice will be painful!" She yelled. Clenching her fists, crushing the milk carton in the process, sending milk squirting everywhere. "It will be delicious!"

"Yeah!" The rest of Team RWBY and I agreed with our fists raised.

"You guys are idiots…" Ankh muttered in annoyance as he was sitting at the _only_ table that wasn't moved. "Still, it might just be amusing to watch you idiots go at each other with food."

"Off with their heads!" Nora declared. Oh it's on now!

Team JNPR leapt down from their shoddy construction, with Ren stomping on a table and catapulting three watermelons into the air, before sending them rocketing to their attackers with a flurry of kicks. Jaune leapt forwards and gripped a melon, using the momentum of a front flip to heave it skyward. Pyrrha grabbed two more, before letting them fly. Nora, meanwhile, gripped a table, and flung the remaining fruits at us.

"Yang! Turkey!" Ruby ordered. "Enrique! Baguette!"

Yang and I nodded as Yang rolls over to the turkeys and sticks her fists inside them, while I grabbed a baguette that strangely reminds me of my Medajalibur. With the both of us prepared, we both demolished the incoming watermelons as we then sped towards her.

Pyrrha and I soon clashed while Team RWBY took care of the other three members of Team JNPR. I did my best to block the strike before Blake helped me out as she jumped onto my shoulder before pushing Pyrrha back with two loafs of bread. The two continue their clash before Blake was thrown back from her baguette lock with Pyrrha, the latter threw it at Yang who was running full speed toward her as she punched one loaf but a second hit her sending her flying back.

Ruby jumped onto a food tray and rode across the table till she jumped and threw a loaf at Pyrrha only for Pyrrha to jump back and avoid it before impact. I then fought against Jaune as he used a tray as a makeshift shield. As my clash continues with Jaune, I sidestepped his hit and used the loaf as a bat and swung it to his back, full force as I sent Jaune flying to a stash of food.

I saw Pyrrha running towards me before I blocked her attack once more and we continued to block each other's attacks but I jumped over, landing behind her and took the advantage to grab the back collar of her outfit "Sorry about this." I said with a smirk before I jumped over Pyrrha and threw her over my head allowing Ruby to slam the tray into Pyrrha's back and send her into a pile of tasty debris. Ruby and I did a high five before we saw Weiss joining the fray.

Weiss, the last person I expected to be involved in this food war, gripped a bottle of ketchup, squirting it on the ground, and causing a charging Ren to slip.

However Nora jumped onto a table while in mid air and jumped again, grabbing a pole and impaling a watermelon creating a makeshift hammer as she slammed the melon hammer to the ground sending Ruby and I flying. Weiss grabbed a sword fish and lunged forward sending Nora flying, however she landed on her feet and dove forward spinning the melon hammer til she got a direct hit sending Weiss into a pillar cracking it wide open. Ruby dove and caught Weiss, in a dramatic pose as the pillar fell behind them.

"Weiss, Weiss, no please don't leave me, noooooooooo!" Ruby cried in fake dramatic style. I took notice of it before looking at Nora. "This means full on food warfare!" I declared as I got hold of another baguette.

"You all _are_ idiots but this is amusing…" Ankh watched as he ate his ice cream, sitting on the table left intact.

Yang charged once more with her turkey gauntlets as Ren got a two leeks to block her kick. The two glare at each other before they began to brawl as the blonde brawler delivered multiple punches to his chest and the next punch made him spin a bit before she delivered an uppercut, sending him in the air. Using the advantage, he threw the leeks at her but she jumped back, avoiding it before she jumped in the air and sent Ren to the ground, crashing onto a cluster of tables.

Nora slammed the watermelon hammer at Yang but the the blonde brawler dodged it by jumping a couple of steps back. The two charged towards each other before Nora swung her makeshift hammer and literally sent Yang flying, right out of the ceiling! Did Nora send her to space or something!?

Blake then engaged Nora, armed with a link of sausages as a whip. I watched as Nora flew back to one of the vending machines, denting it severely, and spilling it's contents on the floor. Unfazed, the valkyrie simply kicked a soda can into the air, and followed up with a violent kick to the projectile, sending it rocketing towards Blake. She continued to do this, generating an unrelenting assault of soda that could rival the grenades on Magnhild. Pyrrha, obviously deciding to lend her assistance, raised her hands, using her polarity Semblance to lift the remaining soda cans, creating two tendrils of explosive, sweet, sticky goodness, and direct them at Blake. The result was akin to a violent gale: no matter how much Blake resisted the onslaught, she was quickly swept away in the maelstrom.

I charged towards Nora as she blocked the attack before I saw a butter knife fly right past me. I slowly looked at Pyrrha who had a grin on her face with more butter knifes floating behind her, all aimed at me. "Oh crap…" I uttered.

On time, she made the knives fly towards me, causing me to run away but I was soon pinned to the wall as the knives pinned my sleeves and the edges of my pants as I was in an 'X' formation and my face hitting the wall. "Ow…." I groaned. I turned my head a bit as I watched the rest of the food battle unfold.

Ruby, in the meantime, was now the only remaining combatant on our side. But this never fazed her, as she charged at Team JNPR, her Semblance kicking beyond overdrive. She became a single red arrow, wrapped in her own power, as she sped past JNPR. As she did so, they were plucked from the ground by a slipstream, and sent careening along with every scrap of untouched food.

Right before Ruby hit the wall, she stopped suddenly. But unlike her, the wind she had generated refused to do so, and slammed into the wall like a massive battering ram, causing the wall to crack violently, spiderwebbing to make a circular crater. A millisecond later, Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren impacted into the wall, now pinned by the rush of air that had taken them there. The final nail in the coffin, however, was the wave of food speeding towards the trapped team.

What resulted could only be described as somebody mixing together every single colour into one massive multi-colored splotch on the cracked wall. The bodies of JNPR slid down to the ground, revealing four vaguely human-shaped areas that remained untouched by the wave of food, making us the victors.

"Um… can someone get me off the wall?" I muffled.

Ankh simply got up before he removed all the knives from me before moving away as I landed on the ground. "Thanks Ankh." I thanked as he simply rolled his eyes in annoyance.

I took notice of door behind Sun and another teen burst open, and Professor Goodwitch marched in angrily. With a wave of her riding crop, she quickly restored the room to some semblance of order, dismantling the hodgepodge construction of Nora's "castle" to the standard rows of table. The food mess, however, remained untouched.

"Children! Please, do not play with your food" she ordered just for Nora to burp.

"Enrique, arms out." Ankh informed.

I raised an eyebrow and did as instructed and just in time and by surprise, Yang landed in my arms. Oh yeah, Ankh has Aura Sense. "Nice catch," Yang winked at me, causing me to blush a little. Setting her down I said, "It was nothing."

"Let it go." Ozpin said as he approached and put a hand on Goodwitch's shoulder from behind.

"They're supposed to be the defenders of the world." Goodwitch said in response.

"Says the one who works too much to focus on simple things." Ankh retorted, receiving a glare from Goodwitch in which he ignored.

* * *

After all of it was over, well I just laughed. I haven't had this much fun in a long, long time. With me and Team RWBY as the winners of the food war, we were victorious. _But_ we had to clean up after the whole food war with Ankh who watched us clean for two hours.

Right now, I was resting against tree as I gaze at the clouds with Ankh perched on the tree branch. I found it funny how one table survived the whole mess, the table that Ankh sat on, watching us fight while eating his ice cream.

"You were an idiot back at the cafeteria." He said while tapping away on his Scroll.

"I had fun." I countered with a shrug. "Besides you were watching the whole time without looking away."

"Whatever." He scoffed.

As I saw him going over files, relating to new students that will be attending Beacon, on his Scroll I heard someone call out.

"Yo."

I turned my head and saw Sun and the same teenage boy from earlier without the grape soda stains. He has tan skin, dark blue eyes and messy light blue hair that is shaved on the sides and in the back, aka, an undercut. He wears a white dress shirt and black tie under a red jacket with a wide, upturned, black collar and a pair of gray jeans with black padding strapped to the sides. The back of his jacket displays a silver reticle. However there was one thing I could see in his eyes, all too familiar.

This guy is like Zack; flirts with the ladies.

I got up as I said, "Hey Sun, who's your friend?"

"This is Neptune Vasilias, he's my teammate." He replied, gesturing to his friend.

"Nice to meet you," Neptune said as he reached his hand out.

"The name's Enrique Alderete. I'm with Team RWBY." I nodded as I obliged with a handshake.

"You're the fifth member to a four person team?"

"Kinda." I said, "Sometimes I have to fight alone on certain situations."

"You mean those monsters?"

"Yeah," I nodded before pointing at Ankh, "that's Ankh. He's my… Mentor/bodyguard and also a teacher here… Sadly." I said quietly at the last part.

"Bodyguard?" The two guys repeated in surprise.

"I keep that idiot alive when it comes to fighting them." Ankh answered nonchalant as he goes through another file, no doubt finding Sun's and Neptune's profiles. "So… Neptune Vasilias and Sun Wukong, part of Team SSSN. Interesting…" He muttered.

I sighed before looking at Neptune. "Let me guess, you are the type of guy who flirts with the ladies?"

"Hey, how did you know that?" Sun asked as Neptune looked surprised.

"He reminds me of a friend of mine," I answered. "The look in the eyes was how I know. My friend back home had that same look in the eyes. You two are basically alike when it comes to that." I then said, "so what brings you two here?"

"We were transferred here from Haven Academy." Sun explained. "And right now we wanted to explore around. You wanna come along?"

"Huh? Me?" I asked.

"Yeah, you seem like an okay guy and know your way around. Plus Neptune here won't flirt with you, unless he rolls that way."

"Dude, seriously!" Neptune cried.

"Hey, I just don't want to see you flirt while being shown around the school." Sun raised his hands in defense.

I began to laugh at the two. It was like looking at a mirror with Neptune acting the way Zack does while Sun reminds me a bit of myself when he talks to Neptune. "What are you laughing about?"

"You two definitely remind me of Zack and myself." I laughed before reaching in my pocket and pulled out one of the photos I carried with me before I ended up in Remnant, showing myself when I was a junior in high school and a teen my age with his arm over my shoulder giving a peace sign and a grin. He has messy brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a black vest, white short-sleeve dress shirt with a loose black tie, and black pants. "That's Zack, my best friend for the past 4 years."

Sun looked at the photo then looked at Neptune. "He does look like the type of guy who would flirt with the girls." he agreed.

"Oh believe me, he flirts with a lot of girls but nearly got his butt kicked one time for flirting with a girl who was already in a relationship."

"Didn't that happen to you too, Neptune?" Sun asked.

"How was I supposed to know?" Neptune argued. Yep, Neptune definitely reminds me of Zack.

"So you guys wanna head to town?" I asked.

"Count us in."

* * *

Once we made it to the city, we began to walk around telling them about Beacon while Ankh wanted to do his research for those unknown Core Medals. Ankh was taking the search very seriously since the Greeed were unaware of the three unknown Core Medals. Right now we were at a cafe as Neptune, Sun, and I were at a table.

The moment Neptune waved at a group of girls, they giggled as they waved back. "Never gets old." Sun said.

"What can I say?" Neptune shrugged with a smirk.

"You really do remind me of Zack," I chuckled. "I can see why you and Sun are good friends."

We began to talk to one another about our days in the respective Combat schools. It felt nice talking to the two. It felt like I was at home talking to my friends. Sun was now eating another banana while Neptune brought up a question. "So Enrique, what's it like being with Team RWBY?"

"It's fun. Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang are good friends to hang out with." I answered. "Even though I sleep in a different dorm room since I'm also a… Solo team."

"What about Blake?" Sun asked.

"She's a good friend to hang out with too. We often talk to each other and such." I then lowered my voice that only the two could hear. "I don't care if she's a Faunus, you guys. To me, she's a normal person that I became friends with when I started my day in Beacon."

"Sounds like you care about her." Sun said.

"Of course, she's my friend. She looks out for me and I help her out." I replied with a small smile.

That was then the two had a grin as I took a sip from my drink.

"Do you like Blake?" Sun asked.

Wait what!?

This caused me to spit my drink to the side before looking at the two with a small blush. "W-what are you guys talking about!? We only been friends since the initiation." I stammered. "Of course I care about Blake, but liking her? Come on, do I look like the type of guy that goes after girls like that?"

"Nah, that's more Neptune's style," Sun remarked.

"Hey, what can I say? I know what the ladies like," Neptune winked and smiled, causing his teeth to shine with a 'ping'.

Seriously, how does that even work?

"Blake and I, we're just friends," I insisted.

"Great, so then you wouldn't mind if I asked her to the dance," Sun said.

And that was when I nearly dropped out of my seat.

" _Dance_? What dance?" I questioned.

"Oh, there's supposed to be this dance for the students at Beacon. A party to celebrate the upcoming Vytal Festival," Sun explained. "We're supposed to be bringing dates."

"And you want to ask Blake?" I asked carefully.

"Yeah, think she'll go for it?" Sun asked back.

"Dude, if you want to take a girl to a dance, you have to be well-dressed, with a suit and tie," Neptune advised.

"Seriously? Do you see me wearing those dang neck traps?" Sun shot back.

"And a _decent_ shirt," Neptune added.

"He's right about that." I said. "But I don't know if Blake will accept plus she's been focused on what happened back at the docks… especially knowing the fact the Yummy that I beated was born from her desire."

"Yummy?" Neptune repeated.

"You're talking about the monster from before?" Sun recalled.

"Yeah, they are part of the Greeed. Creatures from 800 years ago that were brought back." I explained. "Ankh is one of them but the other Greeed hate him."

"Wait, then how come he be-"

"Human? He possessed a gravely wounded officer as he slowly heals him." I started. "And Ankh's Greeed form is _only_ an arm. He's been trying to find his other Core Medals and get more Cell Medals to rebuild his real body."

"So that's why that thing exploded into those coins." Sun said.

"Yep and the Core Medals is what I use to fight." I then got into a serious expression. "But if the other four Greeed get all of their respective Core Medals back, they will be at full power and easily take over Remnant. Believe me..." I was reminded the time when Gamel and his Yummy caused the mayhem in the city a couple months back during the first semester. "It's not pretty when they are at full power or when you see a portion of their power…"

The two looked concerned at first upon hearing about the Greeed's capabilities before they looked at me. "Are you sure that you're not exaggerating."

"Trust me. If all four of the Greeed get their Core Medals, you might as well get ready to say goodbye to this world. That is why I am fighting the Greeed; to prevent them from taking over as well as protecting everyone and help them see that they should cherish with what they already have before they make a mistake, losing everything..."

"You're serious about the task." Sun said.

"I am," I nodded. "Ankh may be a Greeed but he is teaching me how to fight since he and the other Greeed were taught to fight 800 years ago. You can say they were the first Hunters."

"So you are being taught by him?"

"Yep but the training is intense but it helps me fight better by the day against the Greeed. That's why he's teaching me; be at the same fighting level as them." I then finished up my water before paying for the drink and snack. "Well, I should head back; it was nice meeting you guys. You definitely remind me of my friend, Neptune; just don't flirt _too_ much." I chuckled at the last part before leaving.

* * *

 _Neptune and Sun watched Enrique leave before thinking back at his words. "Didn't think there was anything that are worse than the Grimm." Sun said._

" _Right about that." Neptune nodded before having a grin. "But I am sure Enrique is into Blake, he's just doesn't even realize it."_

" _Your self-proclaimed 'love radar'?"_

" _Hey, it's perfectly sound. Besides, he looks like he has the whole world on his shoulders."_

" _Technically, he does."_

" _Well, yeah, but he needs to live a little. So, as his new bros, we're gonna help him get that date with Blake."_

" _Alright." Sun nodded. "I think to start, we should help him ask Blake to the dance."_

" _Never thought you would make that type of idea, coming from you, Sun." Neptune remarked._

" _He may have got to the point first but might as well help out." he shrugged._

 _Meanwhile at Beacon, Ankh continued his research for the missing Core Medals since the day he learned about them. It irritates him that most leads took him back to square one. "Where are those damn Medals…?" He scowled in irritation._

 _The book said that the alchemist created them but also held onto them. Then there was a log talking about the Dust, the Greeed, the days of the people and alchemists, etc._

 _That was then something clicked._

 _He grabbed the book and read the log about those Core Medals again. He took notice of the writing; it was similar to another log._

 _Flipping the pages, he stopped to the log that talked about the discovery of Dust within the mines. The writing on it was the_ exact _same, showing that both logs came from the same person._

" _The same alchemist who created the Core Medals discovered Dust…" He muttered._

 _Now the snow girl, Weiss kept bragging that her family was the largest Dust company in Remnant. Could there be a connection between her family and the alchemist?_

" _Could it be…?"_

 _He grabbed his Scroll and search any matching related to the Schnee Dust Company._

 _He looked at news articles and photos as he scroll through each one. One image caught his attention._

 _A photo with Mr. Schnee along with Kougami himself. The article was about discussing joint operation with Kougami denying the offer._

 _He zoomed at the photo and squinted his eyes only for them to widen. Behind the two was a desk and a wall but hanging on the wall was a glass casing held none other than the unknown Core Medals._

 _A smirk appeared on his lips. "So… Schnee's ancestor was the very same alchemist that made those three Core Medals_ and _discovered Dust." He mused. All he had to do was one thing that he and Enrique, by force, will have to do._

 _Steal the Core Medals._

* * *

Night has occurred as the White Fang were moving crates within an old warehouse. "Oh, look! She sent the kids again! This is turning out just like the divorce!" Roman said as he approaches the two from behind and wraps his arms around them in a group hug.

"Spare us the thought of you procreating." Emerald stated as Torchwick let them both go and approached his desk.

"That was a joke and this..." Torchwick held up a piece of paper. " _Just_ might tell me where you've two have been all day."

"Wait, what?" Emerald checked her pockets to find her paper missing.

"I'm a professional sweetheart, pay attention maybe you'll learn something." Torchwick taunted before looking at the paper. "Why do you have this address?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Emerald stated avoiding the question.

"Yeah I would, now where've you been all day?" Torchwick questioned only for Mercury to suddenly cut in.

"Cleaning up your problem. One of them at least."

"I had that under control." Torchwick growled, glaring at Mercury and Emerald threateningly.

"Two packed bags and a ticket out of Vale said otherwise." Mercury taunted.

"Listen you little punk." Torchwick said pointing at Mercury. "If it were up to me I would take you and your little street rat friend here and I would..."

"Do what Roman?"

Roman looked up to see Cinder with her fiery eyes and her accursed new partner she had introduced him to; It was Kazari in his human form. Kazari looked down at Roman with a grin as the platform lowered and the duo stepped off, with Torchwick having fear in his eyes.

"Come on, Roman." Kazari taunted. "What were you gonna finish?"

Roman laughed nervously. "I'd, uh… _not_ kill them?" he stuttered.

"Cinder!" Emerald said excitedly. Her and Mercury looking at the woman with admiration and respect however, Kazari was different.

"I thought I made it clear that you were to eliminate the would be runaway." Cinder stated as she and Kazari walked towards Roman.

"I was going to but..." Roman was cut off by Emerald.

"He was going to escape to Vacuo, Mercury and I decided to take it upon ourselves to kill the rat." Emerald bragged.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Kazari wagged his finger. "Didn't Cinder instruct you both to keep your hands clean while being here in Vale?" He circled the two, making them tense. "After all you wouldn't want to disappoint her, more importantly…" he went into his Greeed form. " **Me? Uva, Mezool, and luckily Gamel aren't aware of our doings since I am stalling them."**

"I, we just thought..." Emerald began to say only for Cinder to continue.

"Don't think, obey." Cinder said calmly, making Kazari chuckle in amusement. Kazari's Yummies obey him and Cinder was like him in a way towards the two.

"Yes ma'am, it won't happen again." Emerald answered, lowering her gaze.

" **Hope so…"** Kazari turned his head to Roman along with Cinder. " **And Roman, why wasn't the job done sooner?"**

"I would like to know as well." Cinder agreed.

Roman simply motioned around him showing off the boxes full of Dust. "Sorry if I've been a little busy stealing every speck of dust in the Kingdom. Look around, I've got this town running scared. Police camping out at every corner, Dust prices through the roof, and we're sitting pretty in an old warehouse with more Dust, crystals, vials, and rounds then we know what to do with." Roman sighed and turned to face Cinder and Kazari.

"Speaking of which, if you guys wouldn't mind filling me in on your grand Master plan. It might make my next string of robberies go a little smoother." Torchwick growled in anger with the uncertainty.

"Oh Roman, have a little faith. You'll know what you need, when you need to know." Cinder said in an alluring tone as she cupped Torchwick's chin in her hand locking eyes with him. "Besides we're done with Dust."

"Ooookay then what now?" Roman asked as Cinder turned and walked away softly back to Kazari who went back into his human form and smiled.

"We're moving, have the White Fang clear out this building. I'll send you details and coordinates tonight." Cinder said as she turned and started to leave.

"Coordinates?" Roman repeated in question.

"We are proceeding to phase two." Kazari mused as Cinder, Emerald, Mercury walked away with him looking at Roman. "Oh and Roman, try not to anger the ones you work for after all…" he presented a Cell Medal. "You wouldn't want to be a Yummy much like the ones that I created before right? I did remember Uva making a Yummy from you the day you robbed a Dust store."

Roman frowned, "I rather be myself than be an… animal-thing or whatever you call it."

"Wise choice." Kazari said before absorbing the Cell Medal and followed Cinder before he spoke up. "Your people know when to obey. That is what I enjoy with an acceptable partner like yourself."

Cinder had a satisfied smile.

"So, your plan to infiltrate Beacon will begin." he said. Cinder nodded before Kazari looks at Mercury and Emerald. "Don't try anything that will end the plan. You may be scott-free from Cinder but not me… we Greeed rather have things complete than empty. Do I make myself clear?"

The predatory gleam in Kazari's eyes made Emerald and Mercury lower their heads. They slowly nodded, leaving him with a satisfied grin. "Good. Now let's make sure the pieces fall right. After all, like Cinder said, 'don't think, obey.'"

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Tako (x2)**

 **Sai (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

 **Zou (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"So he is becoming more powerful during his stay here…" Ironwood said with interest as he watches the clips of the Full Combos.

"We're going to break into the Schnee Manor," Ankh said bluntly.

"Nice to meet you, Enrique. I'm Cinder Fall. " She introduced herself as I felt a blush coming up.

 **Next Time:** New Semester, Heist, Cinder Fall

* * *

 **A/N:** That is it for this chapter and the beginning of the Volume 2 Arc. I hope you guys enjoyed the food fight scene as well as the preview for the next chapter. Don't forget to check out my newest story **The Divine Providence of the Three Kingdoms** (Kamen Rider Gaim x Koihime Musou). I will see you all in the next chapter! Stay in the shadows everyone!


	15. Authors Note

**Author's Note**

 **Hey you guys... I am here to notify you all that I will be going on a hiatus for a while on _all_ my stories. The reason is that my grandmother passed away earlier this morning... I'm sorry but I just need time to be away from anything for awhile. I apologize if you were looking forward to any updates... see you all later...**


	16. Chapter 15: Medals, Heist, Cinder Fall

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the fifteenth chapter of OOO! Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]).

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _A large and ominous airship descended upon a landing pad. Two Bullheads flew over the main causeway and ant-like masses of people swarmed on the paths around Beacon. At the peak of the highest tower, veiled in clouds, clockwork mechanisms function ceaselessly over the headmaster's office. Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch stood facing out the window of his office, watching the orchestrations._

 _"Ironwood certainly loves bringing his work wherever he travels," Goodwitch said._

" _Well, running an academy and a military makes him a busy man," the headmaster said as he overlooked three more Bullheads flew in, "But yes, those are a bit of an eyesore." A chirping sound emanated from his desk._

 _"Come in," Ozpin said." The doors to his office opened, revealing General Ironwood._

" _Ozpin!" said Ironwood cordially._

 _Ozpin stood at attention. "Hello, General," he said rather stiffly._

" _Please, drop the formalities." The two men approached and shook hands as Goodwitch also approached._

" _It's been too long," said Ironwood, "And Glynda! It has certainly been too long since we last met."_

 _The severe professor responded almost mockingly, "Oh, James" She gave a personable wave and then dropped all pleasantries. "I'll be outside."_

 _"Well, she hasn't changed a bit," said Ironwood, not entirely surprised by how the conversation went._

 _Ozpin turned to his desk and said "So, what in the world has brought you all the way down from Atlas again?" The Headmaster of Beacon picked up a kettle and cup, pouring as he spoke. "Headmasters don't typically travel with their students, for the Vytal Festival." He turned and offered the cup to Ironwood._

 _The mug changes hands and a clink is heard. "Well, you know how much I love Vale this time of year," Ironwood said as he produced a canteen from his inside coat pocket and poured its contents into his mug. "Besides, with you hosting, I thought that this might be a good opportunity for us to catch up."_

 _Ozpin walked around to his desk, kettle and a new mug. "I can certainly appreciate the quality time between friends, however, a small fleet outside my window has me concerned."_

 _"Well, concerned is what brought them here." The General said._

" _I understand that travel between kingdoms has become increasingly difficult," said Ozpin, feigning ignorance._

 _"Oz, you and I both know why I brought those men," said Ironwood frankly._

 _Ozpin took a drink and set down his mug. "We are in a time of peace. Shows of power like this are just going to give off the wrong impression."_

 _"But if what Qrow said is true..."_

 _Interrupting the other man Ozpin said, "If what Qrow said is true, then we will handle it tactfully." He said gesturing with his index finger for emphasis. "It's the Vytal Festival. A time to celebrate unity and peace. So I suggest that you not scare people by transporting hundreds of soldiers halfway across the continent."_

 _"I'm just being cautious," justified Ironwood. "Especially after the incident of that Greeed."_

 _"As am I. Which is why we will continue to train the best Huntsmen and Huntresses we can." Ozpin stated. "And you know that our weapons doesn't affect the Greeed. As for one of my students…" He pressed a button showing the videos of Enrique using the three Full Combos. "He has been progressing quickly thanks to Ankh. No fatal incidents involving the Greeed whatsoever, thanks to the two."_

" _So he is becoming more powerful during his stay here…" Ironwood said with interest as he watches the clips of the Full Combos that Enrique uses. The power that is advancing by the day and the young man who was using it._

" _A sense of purpose, experience on the field, and something to protect," Ozpin listed. "He has traits that truly marks a Huntsman."_

" _Is there anyway if I can-"_

" _I'm afraid I can't, James." Ozpin denied, knowing what Ironwood was gonna ask. "As you remember, Ankh is teaching him. For a student, their combat level was from the start they train themselves but for Enrique, he has improved within a semester. He will soon reach the same level as the upperclassmen in the academy before the end of the second semester. We will be cautious of what comes to us."_

 _In Ironwood's eyes showed that he could have ask the young man to help his cause but from hearing this, he can't knowing that Ankh is teaching the young man and would not give him up easily. Ironwood turns around and walks to the door but stops and looks back at Ozpin. "Ask yourself this: Do you honestly think your children can win a war?" he questioned before leaving._

" _I hope they never have to." he sighed._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 15: New Semester, Heist, Cinder Fall**

Class was already over and I was back in the dorm room, drinking some coffee. The first day of the new semester was nice but I need something to keep me awake since it was tiring day for me. It was relaxing for me and Ankh was not in the dorm since he had to meet the new students much to his dismay. As I took a sip, I saw Ankh entering the room but he had a grin.

"Something caught your attention, Ankh?" I asked before taking a sip.

"We're going to break into the Schnee Manor," Ankh said bluntly.

This caused me to cough and spew the coffee I had been drinking. I sputtered, coughing, "Wha-wha-WHAT!?"

"You heard me."

"I know I did! I just thought there was something crazy in my ear! Why do you want to break into Weiss's home."

Ankh showed me the photo on his Scroll and he zoomed in on what he wanted to show me.

"Are those...?" I stared.

"Yes, Core Medals that I didn't know about. I want them before the other Greeed can get them," he told me.

"And you thought breaking in and stealing them was a good idea?" I asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, I'm sorry. How about we go up to him and ask nicely. Well, that would surely work," Ankh sarcastically remarked.

"OK, guess asking nicely isn't going to work. Though I wonder how Weiss's dad got his hands on those Core Medals."

"I don't care how he got them. I only care about taking them."

"But Ankh, the Manor is all the way in Atlas! You know that is like a military kingdom."

"Have you noticed the Airships floating outside of the school?" Ankh pointed at the window.

I looked out the window then back at Ankh in horror, "Are you talking about stealing an Atlesian Military airship!?"

"Not stealing. Borrowing," Ankh defended.

"I can't believe we're having this conversation." I got up from the chair. "And there's no way in hell that I'm gonna 'take' an airship owned by the military! Do you even know the punishment upon stealing a military vehicle!?"

"If I saw this picture, chances are the other Greeed have seen it too," Ankh pointed out.

I grimaced at his point. He's right, if the Greeed find out they will steal them and they are a one man army. "Wait, the photo also showed Kougami." I recalled. " _Maybe,_ since he is aware of them, we can ask him. After all he did say he is willing to lend help."

"He's going to ask for something in return if we ask for his help," Ankh grimaced in disgust.

"Well, I doubt the price we're gonna pay by helping him is going to be any worse if we get caught by Atlesian Military," I shot back. I really didn't want to end up jailed for life. And if my dad knew what Ankh was planning, and that I was going to become an accessory, well he would be rolling in his grave. "So we are gonna see Kougami. We are not stealing an Atlesian airship. Period. Or would you rather not have more Core Medals for 'your' collection?"

He growled.

"I take that as an 'okay', then."

We both left the dorm room so we can head to the airship to meet up with Kougami.

"You know, if we knocked out a couple of the guards, we could take their uniforms..."

"No." I responded. "I told you, we are not doing anything that relates to the Atlesian Military."

We got on a normal airship as it took us to Vale before we walked our way to the Kougami Foundation. Upon entering the building, I walked to the front desk. "I would like to speak to Kougami. Can you let him know that Ankh an-"

"He has been expecting you two." she said before gesturing to the elevator.

Ankh and I looked at each other. "I think he is aware of what we were planning" I said before we entered the elevator. Elevator music played, which Ankh hated.

"I really hate this music." Ankh grimaced.

"Get used to it, Ankh." I retorted.

With a 'ding', the doors opened before we progressed towards his office and eventually saw him. "Mr. Kougami." I waved a bit.

"Ah, Enrique, Ankh, good to see you two. I take it you are getting those Core Medals from Mr. Schnee?"

"So _you_ are aware that he held onto them." Ankh questioned.

"Of course, after all his ancestor was the alchemist that created them and discovered Dust." he smiled.

I blinked before my eyes widen upon the information. "Wait, you mean… Weiss' ancestor is one of the royal alchemists!?" I exclaimed.

"Precisely!"

"Enough games, old man." Ankh scowled. "We need to get them before the other Greeed find out about them."

"Ms. Haven." he called out.

The said assistant entered the room and gave Kougami, from what it looks like fake copies of the unknown Core Medals. "These here are imitations to the real ones. Fakes. Mr. Schnee won't know the difference between them." he explained. "All you have to do is switch them with the real ones."

"Why do I get the feeling you knew we were going to try and steal those Core Medals?" I commented. Kougami was oddly prepared for this caper. "Still, we may have the fakes but how exactly are we going to get to Atlas to make the switch?"

"It just so happens I have a meeting with Mr. Schnee..."

Seriously, was this guy psychic?

Ankh and I looked at each other before looking at Kougami. "What do we have to do?" we asked.

Kougami had a smile and from the looks of it, Ankh is probably not gonna like it.

* * *

Looks like my assumption was right about Ankh not liking the idea. Kougami suggested we act as his guards for the meeting. Basically security detail and both of us had to wear suits. To me, the suit looked really nice and shockingly expensive from what Kougami told us both. But to Ankh...

"Why do I have to wear this stupid suit!?" Ankh growled.

"We're supposed to be posing as Mr. Kougami's security detail," I replied as I adjusted my tie and made sure my sunglasses were on straight. "Besides that Hunter that brought you those Cell Medals during the first semester is on a mission so what choice do we have?"

He glared at me before looking away.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose since Ankh is gonna be complaining the whole time. "Just don't screw this up, Ankh. If you want to get those Core Medals that act natural. I'll buy three cases of ice cream a day if you can at least play along."

Ankh pondered for a moment before saying, "Alright."

"Looks like we are here." Kougami mused. We looked out the window and saw the manor and my jaw dropped a bit. Weiss definitely lived rich since she is an heiress.

Ankh and I were the first to get out before opening the door for Kougami as he and Ms. Haven walked towards the entrance while we followed.

Once we entered, Ankh and I took notice of surprisingly robots guarded in each part of the building. Great, this just got more difficult.

"Kougami, good to see you again." a voice called out.

My attentioned was then turned to the source and saw a man with snow white hair, dark blue eyes, pale skin, and wearing a white suit with a blue tie while being escorted by two robots. No doubt that must be Weiss' father.

"Ah, Schnee. Your place never changes has it?" Kougami smiled as the two shared a handshake.

"It never has." He responded before the two walked as we followed.

Ankh and I continued to carefully watch our surrounding since the robots are considered security for this place. No doubt that it is because of the White Fang since Weiss mentioned her and her family being targets for a long time.

We continued to follow Kougami, Ms. Haven, and Mr. Schee as they were walking to the meeting room. When we passed by a door, I saw writing on the front, saying 'Mr. Schnee's Office'. I looked at Ankh who nodded, no doubt that he detected the Core Energy within that room.

"So Kougami, about that offer that I explained to you before." Mr. Schnee said.

Kougami waved off. "I'm afraid I have to decline your offer again, Mr. Schnee. As before, my Foundation won't be doing a joint deal."

"Alright." he said but we could tell he wanted to know more about the Kougami Foundation since Weiss told me that the foundation has been rivalling Dust transactions with the Schnee Dust Company.

We soon came to the meeting as Kougami and Mr. Schnee took their seat as Kougami looks at us three and gave a nod, asking us to leave the room. We complied as we exited the room, closing the door behinds us with Ms. Haven staying with Kougami.

"Alright Ankh, from what I can gather, those bots surround important parts of the manor, including the hall that leads to the office." I noted.

"Yeah and that office holds those Cores from what I can sense." he responded quietly. "Since we have to act like Kougami's damn guards, we have to patrol the manor. And with that, I will have the opportunity to detach from my host."

"But Ankh, won't those bots find it suspicious and go on alert upon seeing Nathan's unconscious body?" I countered.

"I can help." a familiar voice said.

We turned around and saw Ms. Haven. "Ms. Haven, I thought you were in the meeting with Kougami?" I asked.

"It is a meeting that is between the two and Kougami insisted that I help." she explained as she tapped away on her Scroll. "I can keep watch of… Ankh's host."

I swore I heard a hint of sadness upon hearing that last statement. Is there something she is hiding? "Alright."

Leaving the manor to keep watch outside, Ankh got to the car and opened it before he sat down on the seat. "Now…" he smirked as he detached from his host. " **Let the steal begin."**

He flew away from our sights before I looked at Ms. Haven as she gently and carefully made sure that the unconscious body of Nathan doesn't die. I don't know why but there was something about Ms. Haven as she looks at Nathan. "Ms. Haven, is everything okay?" I asked with concern upon seeing her expression.

"I'm fine," she replied. "I just need some time to be alone…" she walked back into the manor as I kept watched by the car.

' _What are you not telling me Ms. Haven…?'_ I thought. First that Biker Guy Hunter acted a bit of a jerk upon learning that Ankh's host nearly died and now Ms. Haven looked sad upon seeing Nathan's unconscious body. Is there some sort of connection between the three?

* * *

 _Ankh had separated from his host body and was flying through the air. He made sure to keep out of sight. Turning a corner, there was two robots approaching, causing him to flying to the ceiling, avoiding their detection. He watched them walked under him, giving him relief before continuing his flight towards the office where he sensed the Core Energy. Eventually, he saw the door that leads to Mr. Schnee's office. Slowly getting hold of the door knob, he quietly opens the door before closing it behind him. Turning to the desk, he saw what he was looking for._

 _The three Unknown Core Medals hanging in a glass casing._

" _ **Finally...the Core Medals..."**_

 _Ankh balled his fist and smashed the glass holding the Core Medals. Suddenly, the alarms blared._

" _ **Shit**_ _!" Ankh grabbed the Core Medals and absorbed them into his palm. He quickly replaced them with the imitations before he flew to the window and opened it as well as breaking a few glass here and there and pushing papers away, tricking them to think that someone was looking for something. He then went to the door and noticed that was about to be opened. He quickly looked around knowing that he won't make it to the window in time to escape and go back to his host._

 _He looked around until he found a spot as he quickly flew to it and regrettably posed as an item, right next to Mr. Schnee's collection. He felt like he was a stupid statue knowing that he was a homunculus that is only an arm; kinda ironic._

 _The doors bursted open as the robots aimed their guns around the room, looking for the intruder. The robots took notice of the broken glass on the ground and papers thrown everywhere in the room, suggesting that someone was looking for something._

 _They continued to search around the room as one of the robots stared at Ankh who was mentally in a small panic. '_ **Go away you stupid scrap metal…!'** _Ankh thought irritably._

 _The robot looked at Ankh for a little longer before walking away as it went back to continue its search with the two robots looking at the window, thinking their intruder left the moment the alarms went off. They immediately left the room before closing the door, giving Ankh a breath of relief. "_ _ **Finally…"**_ _he breathed out before he flew out the window. "_ _ **Worst idea ever…. damn you, Kougami."**_

* * *

As I waited by the car while we waited for the Bullhead to arrive, I felt a tap on my shoulder, making me turn my head and saw Ankh. I opened the door of the car as Ankh entered before going back to his host. Once he did, he got out of the car and threw the sunglasses to the ground. "This is the last time I ever do something like this!" he roared before looking at Kougami. "This was the worst plan ever!"

Kougami simply chuckled in amusement. "But it is the birth of a new power that Enrique can now use." He responded while the ship landed before we entered as it was preparing for departure.

"Come on Ankh, at least we got them." I shot back.

"Grrrrr…" He growled. "Next time we do something like this, count me out and you will do the work!"

Our trip back to Vale was annoying since Ankh kept complaining about the whole event back at the Schnee Manor as well as to Kougami. I had to wear headphones just to ignore him. By the time we got back to Vale, I thanked Kougami for the help before heading back to Beacon while carrying the suit I wore earlier as I wear my casual clothes.

"Thank Oum that I didn't have to deal with more of that old man…" Ankh said tiredly as he gaze at the three new Core Medals in his hand. "At least we finally got them."

"What are the names for those Core Medals anyway…?" I asked. At least, and surprisingly, Kougami allowed us to keep the suits but I am sure Ankh is just gonna throw his away. I gotta admit, the suit did look nice.

He clenched onto them, feeling the Core Energy before saying, "Kobura, Kame, and Wani. In other words Cobra, Sea Turtle, and Crocodile."

"At least we got them before the other Greeed did." I muttered as I stretched my arms.

"I'm heading back to the dorm. I rather not deal with more headaches than I am already enduring from that stupid plan." Ankh said before walking away, heading back to the dorm.

"Alright, I'll catch up with you later." I waved off before making my way to the library to study. Upon turning on a corner, I bumped into someone. "Sorry about that." I apologized.

"it's alright." a feminine voice said.

I got a good look of the person, and it was a young woman around my age with ashen-black hair that covers her left eye, bright amber eyes, and had clean skin, without a single blemish. She was wearing a black uniform also, possibly a transfer student from one of the combat schools. "I guess I should have looked where I was walking towards." I laughed nervously as I rub the back of my head. "The name's Enrique by the way. Enrique Alderete"

"Nice to meet you, Enrique. I'm Cinder Fall. " She introduced herself as I felt a blush coming up.

Her tone was...very mature and smooth. Kinda sexy really. Wait. Why in the hell did I start thinking like that again? Gotta get my mind out of the gutter.

"I've never seen you around before," I commented.

"I'm actually visiting from Haven with my team and was looking around when I bumped into you."

"I guess Beacon takes getting used to, huh?"

"Would you care to show me around?"

"Um… Sure why not." I shrugged.

So I then decided to show Cinder around. It was funny how it reminded me when I showed Sun and Neptune around the school since they were also from Haven Academy.

"So what's Haven Academy like?" I asked.

"It is normal for me." she answered.

"I see."

"What about you?"

"Me? Well my days here in Beacon are fun. I've made friends during my time here." I answered. "Overall, it is a nice school to be at once you adjust to it."

"Sounds like you adjusted here pretty well."

"I'm used to it." I shrugged. "I've adjusted to many things throughout my days here."

I continued to show her around the school as well answering her questions about parts of the school. We were back in the hallway as we were walking in the courtyard. "Overall that is what is here at the school." I concluded. "And like always, welcome to Beacon Academy."

Cinder gave me a small grin. "Thank you, Enrique." She said with a wink.

I felt a blush coming up as I chuckled nervously. "It's no p-problem," I responded. "Just doing what I can to help out a new student."

Cinder giggled. "My, you're kinda cute when you're face is all red." She leaned towards my cheek and I felt her soft lips touch my skin. "That's a little reward for showing me around."

Now this truly caused me to blush more and stammer. I mean, no girl has ever done that to me at all! "W-Well, I should go now." I stammered. "Have a good evening." I quickly turned around before making my way to the entrance.

As I walked, I quickly shook my head. _'Gotta clear my head.'_ I thought. I rubbed the bridge of my nose, feeling a bit tired knowing that Ankh and I got those unknown Cores, Ankh hating that plan, and meeting Cinder who thanked me.

How would Blake react? Wait, why am I thinking of that!? ' _We are just friends, we are just friends.'_ I reminded myself in thought. Like I told Sun and Neptune, Blake and I are just friends. But why did I have that strange feeling when Sun asked me if he can ask Blake to the dance?

Shaking my head again, not thinking of that thought again. "Maybe some studying can clear my head…" I muttered.

I eventually made it to the library and got some books before setting them on the table. Opening one of them, I began to read as well as writing notes. I sighed as I placed my pencil down as I laid my head back, only for my eyes to lock onto Blake's golden eyes. "B-Blake!?" I was surprised to see her, making me fall back on the chair. "Ow…." I groaned.

"You alright?" Blake asked in concern.

I got up as I rubbed my head, feeling my Aura that is healing it. "Yeah, sorry about that. You surprised me is all." I responded. "You were like a ninja there."

Blake gave me a deadpan stare, making me realize the stupid response I gave. "Sorry, that was stupid for me to say." I sat back down on the chair. "So you are here to read again?" I asked, knowing that the only times I see her here is when Ruby, Weiss, and Yang make their dorm noisy or whenever she wants to read a book for leisure time.

The Faunus nodded at me. "That's right." She had a book with a black covering opened half way. "What about you?"

"Just here to study more." I answered, gesturing to my work. "Plus I didn't want to hear Ankh complaining again since I am his only ear to listen to his rambling."

"That's understandable." Blake replied, not taking her eyes off her book. "It's the same with my team."

I chuckled. "Guess we are not so different…" I looked at the papers that were laid out in front of me. "Knowing that we've been through difficult pasts, still trying to get over them… sometimes life has its way to change things for better, worse, or neutral. I sometimes wonder how much different it would have been if my family were alive..."

"It would have been much different." She said, not averting her eyes away from her book.

I looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"We wouldn't have been a team, wouldn't have met you either and been good friends that we trust."

"Sounds like you really care about me." I teased.

The black-haired girl's cheeks colored a light red before she buried her face back into her book.

I chuckled from her reaction as she lightly punched my shoulder. "Alright, alright." I raised my hands in a mock surrender. I lowered my arms and said, "You know, from everyone I met in my life, you were always there to help me out. I really appreciate it, Blake. It really means alot to me." I let out a small smile to show my thanks, which she returned.

"Your welcome." She said.

* * *

 _In the White Fang base, the Greeed were in their human forms as one of the White Fang members placed a paper in front of them. He didn't want to piss them off. "One of our a-agents found out that there is a shipments of Dust and something called Cell Medals from the Kougami Foundation." he informed their new bosses. They had no choice to obey their new leaders._

" _Cell Medals you say?" Uva said with interest as he looks at the paper. "And three vans carrying both Dust and Cell Medals."_

" _Medals!" Gamel cheered as he raised his snack in the air._

" _You think we should take them, sir?" asked the White Fang member._

" _As the matter of fact, yes." Uva nodded as he placed the paper down. "You are to get a small squad together knowing that we might expect… resistance." No doubt that if Dust and Cell Medals are being transported, it means it will be protected. "You will get the dust while we get the Cell Medals."_

" _Y-Yes sir!"_

" _And our weapons…?" Mezool asked. Ever since she took the papers from the now arrested Atlesian scientist, she also discovered blueprints of weapons. They were supposed to be added to the White Fang's arsenal for potential recruits, but after a few tweaks from her, she modified them to suit each of their preferences._

" _They are in the construction stage. W-We are gonna test them to s-see if they work." he said, nervous._

" _Alright you may leave now." Uva said, gesturing the Faunus to get out._

" _What do you think, Uva?" Mezool asked as she went into her Greeed form._

 _Uva stood up as he too went into his Greeed form. "_ _ **We make sure that we get those Cell Medals."**_ _he responded as he got his bladed forearm. "_ _ **And if OOO or that kunoichi intervene, leave that to me."**_ _he then walked out of the room._

" _Uva doesn't like the girlie in black."_ _Gamel commented as he eats his candy._

" _ **Don't worry, Gamel."**_ _Mezool assured. "_ _ **He is just upset that a Faunus hurt him for the first time."**_

" _Okay…" he responded._

 _Meanwhile with Kazari, who was in another White Fang base, was leaning against the wall as he looks at the bull Faunus, Adam Taurus. "So, my comrades are gonna raid vans filled with Dust and Cell Medals."_

" _Yeah…" Adam nodded. He still hates the Greeed knowing that they are stronger than the Faunus, treating them like slaves to do work, even being the new leaders of the White Fang. "What's so important about worthless coins?"_

" _More than you think," Kazari said before he cracked his neck. "However, I have better plans. I'm planning on betraying my kind."_

 _This made Adam raised an eyebrow under his mask. "Why is that?"_

" _It is something I need to get… with some assistance of course." he stood straight and approached Adam. "I may be working with Cinder as her partner but I would like to offer you a deal."_

" _What kind of deal…?"_

" _You can get back your leadership of the White Fang." he responded, making Adam look at him with interest but he knew there was a catch. "What's the catch?" the Faunus asked._

" _Perceptive you are, Adam." Kazari had a toothy grin. "I have to be leader as well."_

" _WHAT!?" Adam quickly got his ninjato in fury from hearing this._

" _Ah, ah, ah." Kazari got hold of the Bull Faunus' wrist and used his free hand to wag his finger. "You wouldn't want to do that. You know I can kill you before you can even breathe."_

 _For the first time ever, Adam tensed up from hearing this. He lost to Uva but he doesn't want to know what Kazari is capable of. "What else is it you want?"_

" _Even though I want to be the 2nd Leader of your group I would like your soldiers to do work for me in finding some things." he continued with a predatory gleam in his eyes. "In return, I can tell you about a certain cat."_

 _This made Adam look at him for a moment before it registered in his mind. Kazari was talking about Blake. "You know where she is…?"_

" _Of course but I won't tell you unless everything you do for me is complete. It is a win-win." he smiled. "You let me be leader alongside you and once everything is done, I tell you where she is."_

 _Kazari could see that behind the mask, Adam was betrayed from someone he knew long ago. Adam released his grip on his ninjato, Wilt and Blush and shook the Feline Greeed's hand. "It is a deal then." he said. He may hate the Greeed but the one in front of him could somewhat be helpful._

 _Kazari grinned. '_ The pieces are falling in the right order…' _he thought with amusement._

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Kobura (x1)**

 **Kame (x1)**

 **Wani (x1)**

 **Tako (x2)**

 **Sai (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

 **Zou (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"The Greeed _and_ White Fang are hijacking the trucks!" I shouted in both shock and confusion. How are the White Fang working for them!?

" _ **Kazari… what…?"**_ _Mezool gasped as she felt all of her power lost as she watched the Feline Greeed hold onto her Cores._

 **BURAKA~WANI!**

 **Next Time:** Hijack, Mega Greeed, Legendary Combo

* * *

 **A/N:** Well that is it for this chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it as well as the retrieval of the Reptile Combo (If it is even called that but since the Cores had the images of reptiles, I thought that would be the name of the combo). Anyways looks forward to the next chapter and I will see you all later. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	17. Chapter 16:Hijack, Mega Greed, Legendary

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the sixteenth chapter of OOO! I hoped you guys enjoyed the previous chapter as well as the retrieval of the BuraKaWani Core Medals. Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc.). Also Chapter 3 of The Divine Providence of the Three Kingdoms will be done either by the end of this week or by the beginning of next week.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

It was another day for the second semester at Beacon and I was in the training room with Ankh as he set the training bots to an intermediate level. When I first started the training against the drones, he set them at beginner and I sucked back then. After the first semester ended, it was now the intermediate level but I am sure Ankh is gonna increase the level later on to increase my combat skill.

I was right now in my casual clothes as I looked at the four drones around me while I held my grip on Medajalibur.

"Try not to get your ass kicked," was the only thing Ankh told me before he started the training session. Speaking of which, Ankh was now wearing a black shirt under a black leather jacket that has a short, dark red sleeve on the right with a couple of chains. He was also wearing red pants with black shoes.

I sighed with a nod as I got into my stance.

Without the armor, my stance was keeping my sword down with the tip of the blade barely touching the floor as I stood my ground. I learned that keeping the sword close can provide openings but keeping it low, it can provide me with ways to block an attack. How I learned it, let's say that several brutal punches from Ankh and a strike from Ruby taught me that.

The first two drones charged forward, causing me to go on the defensive, blocking the two attacks. I then kicked back the drone on my right before using the Medajalibur to strike the second drone to send it away from me. When I saw the third drone going around me, I quickly evaded its attack before striking it with a vertical strike and kicked it away. The fourth one was charging head on, causing me to sidestep and deliver a slash on its side, sending it away from me.

When the drones circled me, I was ready but Ankh called out. "Enough," he said.

The drones stopped moving as Ankh walked up to me. "You may have done well," this made me let out a small smile, "...but you still have a long ways to go if you are ever to easily beat the other Greeed."

Geez, way to kill the praise you gave me.

"The other Greeed are not at full strength, which is good for us. Using their powers use up Cell Medals. But if they ever got all their Cores back, then it won't matter anymore." He informed, "This is it for your training today. Go do whatever you do."

He walked to the door before I called out. "Ankh, why do you want to help me be a better fighter…?" I asked. "I know you said it can help me be on par with the Greeed, but why give me more training than the others, other than the fact I am using the OOO armor?"

This stopped him. "Some answers are not for free," He turned his head with his right eye looking at me, using his signature look. "I am not telling you why I am teaching you. Just focus on getting the Cores." He then left the training room, leaving me the only one in the room.

I sighed as I simply walked to the bench and put on my collared jacket that I got from Ruby and the others. I grabbed the sheath of the Medajalibur but the moment I turned to the door, I saw Cinder in her academy uniform. "Surprised to see you here, Enrique."

"Oh, hey Cinder." I waved as I flicked my blade and giving it a twirl before I placed it back in the sheath. "I just finished up my training. Ankh wanted me to fight four drones at an intermediate level."

This made her raise an eyebrow. "Four at an intermediate level? Seems a bit excessive don't you think?"

"Nah, it helps me fight better." I waved off. "Ankh wants to make sure I can handle multiple, tough opponents at once."

"Sounds interesting."

I shrugged before saying, "When I was first enrolled in Beacon, I was a newbie to the fighting but thanks to Ankh, I have gotten better since the previous semester. I gotta thank him for teaching me." I placed my fist to my chest. "After all, my dad once told me that a man stays strong no matter how weak they are."

She giggled, "You sure are one of a kind."

I flustered a little from her comment. "I-I'm not _that_ special." I responded, rubbing the back of my head. "I am just doing what is right."

She walked up to me and cupped my chin with her hand. This caused my blush to intensify as our eyes locked.

"You know, fighting against training droids is one thing, but when was the last time you had decent spar?" she asked.

"A...spar...?" I asked and she smiled before she backed away from me and entered a fighting stance.

"The Vytal Festival is coming soon. We do need to keep our skills sharp," Cinder said to me. "Are you up for a five minute spar with me, or are you too tired after your training with those machines?"

"Well…" I rubbed the back of my head.

"If you want, I could take it easy on you."

"Alright, I accept your challenge then." I responded.

* * *

One minute I was on my feet, and the next I was on my back with Cinder straddling me. She had my shoulders pinned down with her hands as she gazed down at me with her smoldering eyes.

"And look what I've just caught," Cinder smiled.

"Enrique, Ankh told me you were..." Blake started as she entered the training room, only to trail off into silence at the compromising position I was in.

"Blake, wait!" I called out as I gently got Cinder off of me before I ran out of the training room. Why do I have to get into situations like this?

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 16: Hijack, Mega Greeed, Legendary Combo**

 _Ankh was perched on a tree branch as he was watching footage of the Kougami Foundation on his Scroll. After that heist, he became suspicious of the old man and so he sent a Taka and Batta Candroid to record the old man's future meetings as he was eating his daily meal of ice cream. Knowing his student is now buying him three boxes a day, it felt like he can eat all he wants._

 _As he watches the live footage, he heard Kougami telling that mysterious biker hunter about a van delivering 7000 Cell Medals and Dust, causing him to look at the footage._

" _Felix, I want you to be careful once you and the RideVendor squad transport the Cell Medals and Dust. Knowing the Greeed will sense them." Kougami informed._

" _Yes sir." the said Huntsman nodded._

" _And one more thing…" Kougami said as his assistant brought Felix a tiny box and opened it, causing Ankh, who was watching the live footage from his Scroll to drop his ice cream and gripped the device with both hands._

" _That bastard! He has my Core!" Ankh growled. In the footage, he was seeing a red coin with the image of a peacock; it was the Kujaku Core Medal._

" _You are to keep this safe as well." Kougami then gave Felix a device. "This will prevent the Greeed from detecting it."_

" _I won't fail the task, Kougami." Felix vowed before leaving the room with his weapon._

 _Ankh ended the footage as his upset expression changed into a victorious grin. "Oh… I am getting my Core back alright, Kougami. You may be a sneaky bastard for hiding it from me…" He looked at his Greeed arm. "But I now know what you are doing with my Core."_

* * *

I was looking around for Blake and I am sure she was upset from what she saw. "Where is she…?" I muttered. Searching for her, I decided to check the library in which she wasn't there until I remembered the courtyard is where she often reads as well.

Once I made it to the courtyard, I saw her by the tree, reading her book. "Blake." I called out as I approached her. She was ignoring me as she continues to read her book, like I wasn't here. "Blake, look I can explain what happened. Cinder offered to spar against me and I wanted to expand my skills." I explained and cringed on how Cinder beat me quickly within a minute. "And with the Vytal Festival coming up, I thought it would be helpful for me to spar with someone." I sighed as I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "It wasn't like that, alright? Ankh wanted me to train."

Blake shut her book, got up, turned away and stormed off.

"Oh, come on!" I went after her before getting in front to face her. "I'm trying to say that it wasn't like that _at all_ , okay? Believe me, I didn't expect her to beat me in a spar that easily." I explained more. "I'm sorry, okay?"

Blake looked me in the eye, trying to find signs of deception. She then sighed, "I'm sorry too. Really, I guess it makes sense that she beat you in a spar."

"Thank you..." At least she forgave me. "Um, do you think we should find Ankh because when I saw him, he was acting as if he hit a jackpot."

"I guess so. He did seem a bit… off after I noticed him looking at his Scroll." she nodded.

We then left the courtyard in search for Ankh knowing that Blake mentioned his 'victorious' expression. Seriously though, why was Blake acting like that anyway?

* * *

" _Cinder, we've been waiting for you," Emerald greeted as Cinder came down to have lunch with her associates._

" _Thank you for saving me a seat," Cinder smiled._

" _So, where were you?" Mercury asked._

" _Oh, just getting closer to a person of interest," Cinder smiled as she popped a cherry into her mouth._

" _You mean that guy that the cat man talked about…?" Emerald asked. She still didn't trust the Feline Greeed, even if he is her new partner._

" _He's trained, but still leagues below any Huntsman without that armor of his," said Cinder. "He's also fun to tease."_

" _Sounds like you found yourself a new toy to play with," Mercury commented._

" _The dance is coming soon. You should ask him to be your date," Emerald suggested._

" _That might be a good idea." she smirked before her expression narrowed. "However, it seems his teachings from this Ankh person creates a way for him to advance quicker. This Ankh eventually will be aware of what is going on." She couldn't forget how Ankh looked at each student. His eyes showed he was seeing how strong they were and when the Bird Greeed looked at her, it felt like he was staring into her own soul, sensing the strength she has. Kazari even explained to the three about what he is capable of as well when he explained about each of the Greeeds' capabilities._

" _Should we deal with him?" Mercury suggested before taking a bite of his food._

" _Avoid him," she ordered._

" _But Cinder we can-" Cinder's eyes glowed as she looks at the two, causing Emerald to flinch. "We will stay away from him…" she corrected herself, not wanting to anger Cinder._

" _Good," she smiled before she continued to eat her meal._

 _Meanwhile in the Kougami Foundation, the RideVendor squad began to place the Cell Medals and Dust into the three vans as Felix got on a RideVendor. The formation was that he takes rear guard while two takes the front, two take each side; surrounding the three vans to protect the cargo. In each van was two guards in the front seats while there is one to keep watch of the cell medals in the back._

 _Felix kept the Core Medal in his pocket knowing that Kougami told him that the Greeed won't detect it due to the device it is on. "Alright let's move out!"_

* * *

Blake and I continued our search for Ankh until we saw him heading to the Bullhead. "Hey Ankh, wait up!" I called out.

We ran up to him as he turned to us. "Where are you going?" I asked.

"To get my one of my three Kujaku Cores." He smirked. "That sneaky old man, Kougami actually kept one of my Cores and he gave it to that Huntsman. I'm getting back what is mine."

This caught the two of us by surprise as he continues, "And since you are here, you are coming with me. I have the feeling that the other Greeed are gonna go after a large amount of Cell Medals that they are transporting, 7000 medals to be exact."

"That is a large amount to transport," Blake noted.

"They are also transporting Dust," Ankh added. "Now let's go get back what is rightfully mine." He walked away as I looked at Blake.

"Can you help me out with this?" I asked her. "If what Ankh said is true, then the other Greeed will be going after the Cell Medals. We should ask that Huntsman for the Core instead of Ankh forcing him to hand it over."

"Knowing Ankh, I will help." Blake nodded. At least she can help me out if it gets worse when we make it to the vans that are delivering the Cell Medals and Dust. We both followed Ankh before we got into the Bullhead and headed to Vale.

* * *

 _The RideVendor squad was continuing transporting the cargo as Felix was on the rear, continuing to drive the RideVendor with his weapon on his side. As they were driving close to the exit of the bridge of the highest, he took notice of something in the distance. Squinting his eyes to see what it was, he saw it was a White Fang soldier. "AMBUSH!" he shouted._

 _The White Fang soldier fired a rocket towards the first RideVendor soldier, causing the latter to immediately get off as the vehicle exploded from the blast. They saw a van approaching them before White Fang soldiers began to exit the vehicle and begun their attack, causing the RideVendor squad to prepare themselves as they were now armed with their weapons._

 _When the front was about to shoot, they were greeted with a certain Greeed. "_ _ **Give me the Cell Medals, meanies!"**_ _Gamel demanded before punching the first RideVendor soldier away as the other was gonna shoot the Beast Greeed but was immediately stabbed by Uva._

" _Greeed!" Felix shouted, causing all the RideVendor soldiers to quickly place in Cell Medals into their weapons, powering them with Core Energy. What made them shocked was that the White Fang were assisting the Greeed!_

 _Felix gritted his teeth behind his helmet as he load a Cell Medal into his twin swords before combining them to the rifle. Now, not only they have to protect the cargo from the White Fang, they have to deal with the Greeed that just killed one of the RideVendor soldiers._

* * *

Ankh and I were on the RideVendors while Blake sat behind me as we drove, following the Taka Candroid to where that Biker Guy Huntsman is. I took notice of Ankh's arm revealing its Greeed arm.

"Looks like the Greeed are already attacking," he smirked. Why can't he just care about human lives for once in his life? I know that he lost someone in the past but he should stop pushing others away when they are trying to help him.

My thoughts were interrupted when we can now hear gunshots going off, no doubt that the group that is escorting the Cell Medals and Dust are under attack by the Greeed. "That doesn't sound good," Blake informed.

"My thoughts exactly," I responded as Ankh and I revved the vehicles to drive faster. Once we made it to the bridge, we were treated with a shocking scene. Both the White Fang and Greeed attacking from what looks to be a RideVendor squad. "The Greeed _and_ White Fang are hijacking the vans!?" I shouted in both shock and confusion. How are the White Fang working for them!?

"This isn't right, the White Fang may mistaken them as Faunus but they certainly don't work with them," Blake explained.

"I can have two guesses," Ankh stated, "One: Uva, knowing him, he may have dueled the leader of the White Fang and won the leadership."

"And the other…?" Blake asked, rather nervous.

"Killed him however, Uva would prefer to have more workers." he answered, giving Blake _some_ relief but upset, remembering how Ankh told us how the other four Greeed treat the Faunus. He looked at me, "You know what to do."

I nodded before putting on the O-Driver, placed in the King Combo, and used the O-Scanner to scan the Medals. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

Now in the TaToBa armor, Blake got out a Cell Medal and placed it in her Gambol Shroud and the both of us began to assist the RideVendor squad. Using Batta Legs, I jumped over the vans and landed in front of none other than Uva, Mezool, and a squad of the White Fang.

" **OOO-boya, surprised to see you here."** Mezool remarked as the White Fang soldiers aimed their guns at me and the RideVendor squad behind me.

"I am not letting you guys kill that Huntsman's squad," I responded as I got into my stance. "And you won't get what you are after."

" **Let this place be your grave then,"** Uva said as the two charged at me with the White Fang about to shoot me.

I blocked a kick from Mezool before I used my right leg to block Uva's bladed forearm. Once I blocked both strikes, I pushed them away before using the Tora Claws to strike Uva then used Batta Legs to kick Mezool away.

I took notice of the White Fang aiming at me but I eventually saw Blake using her Gambol Shroud and struck them away but with not much force knowing that she didn't want to hurt the people she once belonged to. As I parried Uva's next attack, I looked back at that Biker guy. "You and your men get your cargo out of here!" I stated. "We'll try to hold them off!"

He looked at me for a moment before he nodded and looked back at his teammates, "You heard him! Don't let the White Fang get to the cargo and head back to HQ!"

They nodded as they fired rounds to the White Fang soldiers that began to take cover as Blake and I handle the Greeed and White Fang soldiers. When one RideVendor soldier was about to enter the first van, Gamel stopped him and threw him to the other soldiers. " **This is mine!"** he pouted.

"Dammit," I cursed as I tried to block an attack from Uva but Mezool used her water ability as she blast an orb of water onto me with Uva using his horns to deliver an electric attack, doubling the effects. It was very painful even with my Aura was doubled.

I took notice of two White Fang soldiers getting into the van. "Blake, don't let them steal the van!" I said as I blocked Uva's claw with Tora Claws.

"Got it!" she responded as she used her ribbon to get the to White Fang soldiers away from the first van. The other two vans managed to retreat back as the Biker Guy was getting to his RideVendor. The two Greeed were proven to be hard to fight but I was at the defensive as I often counter some of their attacks.

When the Biker Guy Huntsman got on his RideVendor, he was thrown off by none other than Ankh. "Ankh!? What are you doing?!" I demanded as I blocked Mezool's punch and pushed her away.

Ankh ignored me as he demanded, "You! Hand over my Medal!"

"I don't know what you are talking about," the Hunter replied. Ankh however, his expression changed into irritation as he grab the Huntsman's battle vest.

"You know _exactly_ what I am talking about!" He growled. "I watched what Kougami gave you!"

I kicked Mezool away before looking at Ankh, "Damn it, Ankh! Just let him go!" I shouted before I took notice of Uva and Gamel getting inside the only van that the RideVendor Squad couldn't retrieve, along with the White Fang squad entering the van and began to drive away. Just great.

Blake defended me from Mezool's next strike as I ran to Ankh and pulled him away from the Huntsman. "Let him get away from here!" I shouted.

Ankh grabbed the armored collar on my armor and pushed me away, "Not until I get back what is mine!" He argued. The Bird Greeed took notice of something before he pushed me away as something struck his arm.

"Gah!" He cringed as he clenched his Greeed arm. Blake, Ankh, the Huntsman, and I looked to see who did it and saw Kazari.

Oh come on! I just fought two and now I have to fight another!?

"Kazari…" Ankh stated.

The Feline Greeed hummed in amusement as he looks at his palm, seeing his new score; two Tako and the SaGoZo Combo Cores.

" **Looks like I got Mezool's and Gamel's Medals** ," the Feline Greeed said, but he didn't sound too disappointed. " **Maybe I'll get my Medals back with the next one."**

"Che," Ankh hissed as he held his arm.

I looked back at the Huntsman and saw that he drove away, much to my relief but I still have to fight Kazari and Mezool. Before I can attack, I saw Blake charging towards Kazari. "Blake! Wait!" I reached out.

The moment she was gonna strike, Kazari caught her blade. " **Impressive, Kitten."** He mused before forcefully lowering her blade. " **But not enough for the weak Faunus you are."**

This made her eyes widen as Kazari blasted her with a mini cyclone, sending her over the railing. "BLAKE!" I shouted as I jumped over the railing myself.

I quickly reached my hand out as the two of us were falling. "Grab my hand!" I shouted.

She reached her hand out to me as I did my best to grab hold of her. Once she got hold, I pulled her close to me before I used my own back as a shield before we plunged into the water as my vision became nothing but darkness.

* * *

 _Kazari watched both Blake and OOO fall out of amusement. "_ _ **Cute,"**_ _he commented before he and Mezool turned to face Ankh, who was getting up._

 _The Bird Greeed looked at the two that he was facing while clenching onto his arm knowing that Kazari took two of the Tako Cores and the SaGoZo Combo. "Never thought you would show up, Kazari." he commented. "But I sense there is something more to this."_

" _ **It doesn't matter, Ankh."**_ _Kazari yawned before looking at him. "_ _ **After all, you're done here."**_

 _Just as he thrusted his arm out to emit a cyclone attack, Ankh took the initiative and jumped over the railing to prevent him from getting more damage and landed into the water. The two Greeed watched the water to see if Ankh will come out but no luck so Kazari simply walked away. "_ _ **Let's head back."**_ _he said as he walked away, only for Mezool to confront him._

" _ **Kazari, I am starting to have my suspicions about you."**_ _she informed. "_ _ **You suddenly came back the moment we were gonna raid those vehicles for Cell Medals. Where have you been for the past 4 weeks as well?"**_

" _ **You don't have to be so cruel, Mezool."**_ _Kazari responded. "_ _ **Do you really think of me as suspicious? Is that what you think of me?"**_

" _ **Just what have you been doing?!"**_ _She demanded for an answer._

" _ **Who knows?"**_ _He responded as he turned around to approach her. "_ _ **After all…"**_

 _Mezool suddenly felt an arm enter her stomach, causing her to slowly look down and saw Kazari's arm inside her as she can feel that he got hold of the rest of her Core Medals. "_ _ **You won't expect it."**_ _He then pulled away, taking a step back as he watched Mezool fall to the ground, reverting to her human form as Cell Medals occasionally spill from her wound._

 _"Kazari… what…?" Mezool gasped as she felt all of her power lost as she watched the Feline Greeed hold onto her Cores._

" _ **Sorry, Mezool, but I have better plans than being with you, Uva, and Gamel."**_ _He turned around as he turned his head a bit. "_ _ **See you later."**_

 _He walked away, leaving her as she watches the Feline Greeed disappear from her sights. Fortunately, he left at least one vital Core Medal for Mezool, but now she was severely weakened._

" _Gamel...help me..."_

* * *

Darkness. Darkness was all that I could see after what happened. I used my own body to shield Blake when we were falling off the bridge after Uva, Mezool, Gamel, and Kazari attacked. I didn't want another incident like before with Gamel to happen again for that was the reason I saved Blake; I was willing to risk my life to save her.

"...riqu…!"

I then began to hear a voice.

"Enri…!" The voice shouted. "Pleas…. Wake…!"

I slowly opened my eyes, as my vision was blurry as I heard the voice a bit more clearly.

"Enrique, please get up…!" It was now a familiar voice.

My vision cleared up before I was met with Blake's amber eyes, showing tears. "...Bl..ake…?" I muttered weakly.

Her clothes were damp, her hair was matted to her hair, but otherwise she was fine.

"You...you're OK..." I uttered, happy and relieved. I slowly sat up and saw that the buckle was back to its original position. I felt pain on my back but my Aura and the Core Energy began to heal it thankfully. "How long was I out…?" I asked.

"Almost half an hour…" She responded before having a guilty look. "This is my fault…"

"No, it's not your fault," I refuted.

"But… You could've died…"

I shook my head, "Blake, I will always be there to help my friends. Even if it means to save them from death." I responded. "I lost my family already, I don't want to lose my friends who mean a lot to me." I looked at her, "Like I told Ren, if there is a hand reaching for help, and I don't reach out when I can, the regret would make me wish I were dead...I reach out my hand, because all I want is to help."

Blake's expression noticeably changed. She smiled and then put her arms around me in a gentle hug. Not seeing a reason not to, I returned the hug. We were having a pretty tender moment.

And then Ankh had to show himself.

"Good, I found you. Let's go," he ordered.

Blake, offended, asked, "Aren't you going to ask how we are?"

"You're both alive. I can see that. Now come on, we need to go get my Core Medal back."

"Ankh, I don't think we'll be able to get your Core Medal back right now..." I responded. Immediately, Ankh shoved Blake off me and he grabbed me by my collar.

"Don't you get it!? Because of your stupidity, I lost some Core Medals and also lost the chance to get one of my Cores back. Now, we're going to get it and I'm not taking no for an answer!"

I balled my fist and then I did the unexpected as I punched Ankh in the gut. He grunted as he released me. I then punched him across the face.

"IS THAT ALL YOU CARE ABOUT!? YOUR DAMN CORES!? BLAKE ALMOST DIED!" I shouted at him. "FIRST YOU RISKED OUR LIVES TO FIGHT GAMEL AND HIS YUMMY AND NOW THIS! IS THIS HOW THE PERSON YOU LOST WANTS YOU TO BE!?"

Ankh quickly got up and tackled me to the ground as he got hold of my collar again, "Don't you _ever_ mention her!" he demanded. "She has nothing to do with this!"

"Her…?" Blake repeated.

I looked at Ankh as I forcefully push him away as he glared menacingly at me. He got his Greed arm out and points at me, "Listen here, Enrique! I may be dealing with the stupid nonsense at the academy and the idiotic activities you, Team RWBY, and Team JNPR do. But if you ever, _ever_ mention the person of my past." He got closer and got hold of my neck, feeling the need to snap my neck like a twig. "I will kill you, got that!" He shoved me away as Blake glared at him in which he has no care for.

"Try it, Ankh." I shot back. "Remember that you said to me that I am the only one who can help you get the Cores back?"

His expression changed into frustration before he walked away, knowing that I proved a point once again. I gently rubbed my neck as I took a couple of breaths. I can't believe I punched Ankh twice.

I slowly got up before walking up to Blake and reach my hand out. "Let me help you up," I insisted.

She let out a small smile before she got hold and I helped her up. "We should head back to Beacon," I said knowing that the sun will be setting soon and we would need rest since we fought. She nodded in agreement before we began our walk back to Beacon with Ankh going in the same direction we are heading to.

* * *

 _As the van made it to an abandoned warehouse, the White Fang soldiers, Gamel, and Uva got out of the vehicle as they began to unload it and place it in two other vans; one for dust while the other for Cell Medals. "Gamel, you go with them, I'll wait here for Mezool."_

" _Okay…" he said as he got into the other van as the first half of the White Fang soldiers left with him._

 _Uva heard noises before the Insect Greeed looked back and saw Kazari in his Greeed form who looks to be clutching his chest in pain._

" _What happened?" Uva asked._

" _ **OOO got to me… He already defeated Mezool."**_ _He informed._

" _WHAT!?" He roared. "Damn that OOO." he marched right past the Feline Greeed so he can go after OOO._

 _However, Kazari stopped his acting before extending his claws as he approach Uva. The Insect Greeed heard the approach, causing him to go into his Greeed form but was slashed across his chest, spilling Cell Medals. "_ _ **Kazari… What's the meaning of this?!"**_ _He then realized what Kazari actually did. "_ _ **You got Mezool didn't you!?"**_

 _The Feline Greeed hummed as the White Fang soldiers aimed their guns at the Insect Greeed. "_ _ **You see… I learned something, Uva."**_ _Kazari responded as he leaned against the van. "_ _ **It is because the humans and Faunus advancing, they basically evolved from what you can see."**_ _He gestured to the weapons and the city itself. "_ _ **And Ankh proved one thing to us…"**_ _He glanced a look at Uva. "_ _ **We need to do the same, we need to evolve. So, the White Fang is actually under mine and Adam's command. It seems better than just devouring the world."**_

" _ **You son of a bitch!"**_ _He slowly got up as he clutched his chest. "_ _ **You will regret for your treachery!"**_ _He walked away, limping from the attack he recently received. Now with the White Fang by Kazari's side, the Insect Greeed would now have to go back to the old mansion._

 _Kazari chuckled in amusement before motioning the White Fang soldiers to stand down. "_ _ **Let's go."**_

 _They looked at each other before they nodded, "Yes, sir." they answered as they got in the van along with Kazari as he went back to his human form._

* * *

We made our way back to the city as the three of us were walking back to the bullhead so we can head back to Beacon as the sun was already setting. My back was still sore, I pissed off Ankh, and we lost the SaGoZo combo and two Tako Cores.

When we made it to the bullhead, I looked at the sunset as we waited for the Bullhead to land at Beacon. I reached under my shirt before pulling out the dog tag locket. I opened it, thankfully the photo wasn't moist nor messed up so I closed it and placed it back under my shirt.

After 10 minutes, we made it back to Beacon as the three of us headed to our dorms. Once we got close, we saw Ruby, Weiss, and Yang.

"Enrique! Blake! Where have you guys…." they took notice our clothes slightly damp. "What happened to you three?"

"We had to fight Mezool and Uva." Blake answered, receiving shock from the three. "And Kazari eventually attacked us."

Hearing that name, made Yang frown. No doubt that she still wants to give Kazari the beating of a lifetime. "How did it go…?"

"We lost the SaGoZo Combo and two of the Tako Cores to Kazari…" I answered with defeat.

"And it gets worse… the White Fang are helping the Greeed." Blake added as this new information shocked the three upon hearing this.

"What are we gonna do?" Ruby asked.

"We just wait until one of the Greeed decide to make a move." Ankh said before he entered the dorm room and got to his bed.

I looked at the girls then sighed, "We just need rest for now, I am still sore from what happened earlier." I sighed before going to my dorm. "I'll see you girls in the morning."

Once inside, I closed the door behind me, grabbed my pajamas, and took a hot shower knowing that my back is sore. As the warm water hit my skin with each droplet, my thoughts began to ponder from what Ankh said after I said those words to him.

" _Don't you_ ever _mention her! She has nothing to do with this!"_

Ankh may be a total jerk but I felt guilty inside for what I said to him earlier. When he said 'her', it made me think there was someone important in his life that he once protected, someone he possibly considered a very close friend. And learning from Ozpin, how Ankh had the look of loss behind his eyes, it made me wonder if Ankh and I weren't that much different. Like Blake and Weiss, Ankh and I are opposite sides of the same coin.

Ankh lost someone and became a jerk, pushing others away from him. For me, I lost my father and pushed others away then lost the only family I had left as I promised myself to help people, helping them see that they should cherish with what they have now. The one thing we have in common: We both lost people that were close to us.

Then there was the girl he helped. The way he acted towards her in that footage. It was like a part of him that he was in the past is still there, not to mention him telling me that he was gonna train me. This makes me wonder if this was a way for Ankh to seek redemption for what he has done in the past.

I sighed as I turned off the water before drying myself and put on my pajamas. When I looked at the mirror, I placed my hand over my face, remembering how I masked my sadness, grief, and pain in a way during the first semester. Now, I haven't done that in a long while knowing that I have friends who are there for me, looking out for me.

Was this somehow a way of redemption for me as well…? Being here in Remnant?

Shaking my head, preventing more thoughts, I walked out of the bathroom and got on my bunk before covering myself with the blanket and let the onset of sleep take over.

* * *

 _As the night continues, Mezool struggled with each step. She was at risk of becoming nothing but a pile of Cell Medals as she tried to maintain her form._

 _She cursed Kazari for his treachery. She lost her balance as she got hold of a bench._

" _I need...I need to find...Gamel..."_

 _She got some of her balance as she walked in search of the Beast Greeed._

 _In the White Fang base, the White Fang soldiers were getting the Dust out of the van while the cases that held the Cell Medals were left inside as Gamel sat on the edge. He was eating his snack that he carries before noticing Kazari, in his human form, walking up to him as he carried a small plate that held Medals that he recognized._

" _Those are Mezool's Medals!" Gamel identified as Kazari showed them to him._

" _I'm sorry, Gamel. OOO destroyed her. I only managed to save most of her Core Medals," apologized Kazari._

 _This made Gamel frown in anger but Kazari continues, "I'm sure she would want you to have them." He gently handed them to the Beast Greeed. "Oh and I believe these are yours." He presented Sai, Gorilla, and Zou._

" _My Medals!" Gamel cheered. "Thank you, Kazari!"_

 _Kazari grinned before walking away until Adam stopped him. "What is it you are up to…?" he asked._

 _Kazari looked at him with a toothy grin before pulling something out of his pocket, a small, old booklet. "I have saved this for a long time and I thought it would to be time for it to be of good use." He responded. "I wanted to make sure the theory from this book works." He continued. "After all you got back your leadership with me as the second leader."_

 _Kazari swept Adam's hand off his shoulder before continuing his walk as Gamel placed in Mezool's Cores and the Sai, Gorilla, and Zous through his forehead, absorbing them. Arcs of static covered parts of his body before disappearing, with the Beast Greeed completely unaware of what is about to happen. He looked at Adam, "I am gonna go find OOO! Bye, bye!" he walked away in search for OOO to get his revenge._

 _Adam raised an eyebrow under his mask upon hearing the name. It was a strange name to go by until he remembered the news that mentioned an armored warrior fighting the beasts that the Greeed create. How can a simple person be able to beat them?_

 _With Kazari, he walked to the van and saw the cases were still there as the two White Fang soldiers tensed upon his presence. "You two, get the van ready." He ordered. "Follow Mezool and when I give the mark, release the Cell Medals out of the van."_

 _The two nodded quickly before they got inside the van and drove away to search and follow Mezool._

* * *

It was now morning as the alarm clock went off, signaling me to turn it off. I sat up and stretched. Once I did, I got off bed and took a shower. After I was done, I put on my casual clothes and placed the O-Driver in my pocket. I looked at Ankh who was wide awake, eating his ice cream. He paid no attention to me as he was also on his Scroll, searching for anything about the White Fang since they are now helping the Greeed.

I looked at him for a moment before I spoke up, "Ankh, I know your past was… harsh and I don't blame you."

Ankh stopped pressing keys on his Scroll, beginning to listen to me.

"I know what it is like losing someone." I continued, trying to not push the wrong buttons. "But you and I are not that much different. You may be a jerk to me and my friends but I am the opposite, being nice to my friends."

Ankh looked at me.

"Like I told Weiss, we are the opposite of the same coin. We both lost something but we chose different paths as a result." I looked at him. "I don't care if you are a jerk but eventually you have to change your acting for the good. I know there is still a part of you that seeks redemption for what happened 800 years ago. I hope you can understand that." I walked to the door and opened it only for a familiar hand to stop me with a firm grip on my shoulder.

I looked back and saw Ankh with his usual look. "Tch, it doesn't matter how we live our ways." he scoffed. "Don't lose any more Cores."

I nodded as we both left the dorm. When we made it to the landing zone, we someone call out to us.

"Enrique! Ankh! Wait up!"

We looked back and saw Team RWBY approaching us. "What do you girls want?" Ankh questioned with an irritating look.

"We wanna help you guys out." Ruby said. "We know you don't want us to get hurt by the Greeed but we know we can beat them if we don't try."

"Besides, like you said Enrique, we help each other out." Blake smiled.

I looked at the four before having a smirk. "Right." I nodded. "Then let's go."

We entered the Bullhead and headed to Vale. Once we landed, we walked out and began to look around for anything involving the Greeed.

For about an hour, we had no results or leads and we were about to call it a day until Ankh spoke up, "I sense Gamel."

This caught our full attention. "Where?" I asked.

The Bird Greeed was looking very carefully, until he pointed at our right. "There."

Looking to where he said, we saw Gamel entered the shop that sold pastries. His eyes glowed and he started to grab the good and eat it. The baker saw this and immediately went to stop him.

"Hey! You can't do that! You need to pay for those!"

Gamel responded by backhanding the baker into another shelf. "Go away!" he said to the Baker. He grabbed more food and began to eat it as he left the building as sparks covered his body. He looked at his newly obtained snack, remembering how Mezool often treated him with pastries. "Mezool…." he began to shed tears. He missed her. "Mezool! Please come back!" he shouted to no one in particular.

"Something's wrong with Gamel." Ruby noticed. "It sounds like he… lost her."

"Mezool!" he cried out, walking as tears came down his eyes. Ankh and I took notice of sparks of energy on his chest before they disappeared.

"We need to follow him, something tells me there is something waiting to happen." Ankh ordered. We nodded as we followed Gamel.

We eventually followed him to the park and watched the Beast Greeed cry as he yelled out for Mezool. He knew she was gone, but he missed her so much.

"That guy sure has it in for Mezool," Yang commented as we watched the Beast Greeed walk towards a fountain.

However, we all say sparks of energy surround Gamel. "That can't be good…" I muttered. Gamel unleashed a roar as he morphed into his Greeed form, only this time he was covered in thick armor.

"Did Gamel get all of his Medals back!?" I asked as we now saw him in a complete set of armor. This got us very worried and in a state of panic as we saw the Beast Greeed in his full form.

"No, he hasn't," Ankh answered. He could sense the Core Medals inside Gamel. "He's holding Medals beside his own. He's unstable right now."

"Holding other Medals?" Weiss repeated. "Whose Medals would he hold?"

"Whose do you think?" Ankh huffed.

The girls and I looked at each other until it clicked, "He's holding onto Mezool's Medals!" Ruby realized. "Wait, how did he get them if she has her own Cores?"

"Kazari," Ankh responded. "Knowing that scheming punk, he must have stole them… right out of Mezool."

"But why? What purpose would that serve?" Weiss asked.

"I think we're about to find out..." I said as I saw Gamel struggle with himself.

Ruby couldn't help but feel pity for the suffering Greeed, "He looks hurt, scared and confused..."

"Ruby?" I asked and all of a sudden she zoomed towards Gamel. "Ruby, wait!"

" **Mezool..."** Gamel looked at the fountain and for a moment he thought he saw Mezool's face in the water. **"Mezool!"** He splashed the fountain and her image vanished. **"Mezool...I miss you...Mezool..."**

"Hey...big guy..." Ruby said softly and Gamel turned towards her.

" **You!"** Gamel raised his fists.

"Wait! You miss Mezool, don't you?" Ruby asked and Gamel slowly lowered his arms and began to wipe his eyes.

" **Mezool is gone...OOO killed her..."**

He fell to his knees and turned back into his human form as he wiped his tears. Ruby knelt down and gently patted his head.

"Look, it's OK. It's OK." Ruby reached into her pocket and pulled out a plastic bag filled with cookies. "Here, you can have these if you want."

Gamel looked at Ruby who had a kind smile then at the cookies before he slowly reached for the bag. However, arcs of energy spread around his body, causing him to feel pain.

"Are you OK?" she asked.

"Grh…" he cringed before it took effect as Cell Medals surrounded his body once more, " **GRAHHHHHH!"**

The amount of energy he was emitting pushed Ruby back, causing her to land next to us with Yang running up to her.

"Ruby, what were you thinking?" Yang asked.

"I thought I could talk him down! Maybe convince him to not be evil anymore!" Ruby answered.

Ankh quickly looked where Gamel was, as if something caught his attention. "She's here."

We looked and saw none other than Mezool in her human form, limping as Cell Medals spilled from her body occasionally. Gamel turned his head and saw her. " **Mezool!"**

He walked towards her as she smiled, "Gamel, I finally found you." she said. "You saved them, didn't you? My Cores."

Gamel nodded as he got closer to her. " **Mezool, I thought you died!"** He fell on his knees with Mezool walking up to him. **"Mezool! Mezool!"** sobbed Gamel as Mezool gently embraced him.

"It's alright, Gamel. Just give yourself to me," she asked.

He didn't deny her as his body broke down into Medals that were absorbed into her body. Along with his Core Medals, she felt her own Cores return to her, restoring her complete self.

"We'll be together, forever..."

We watched as arcs of energy surrounded her as she too felt the pain. Blake took notice of something in the air, "Look!" she pointed at the direction.

To where she pointed, we saw large clusters of Cell Medals flying towards Mezool. "How are there Cell Medals!?" Weiss asked.

"Over there." Ankh informed.

* * *

 _The two White Fang soldiers had been watching as Gamel got into contact with Mezool._

" _That's our cue."_

 _The back of the van was open, revealing a huge pile of Cell Medals. As if attracted by a powerful magnet, the Cell Medals flew towards Mezool._

* * *

We watched as Mezool screamed in pain as the Cell Medals drowned her before they began to take shape of a large form. Mezool's new monstrous form the body of an elephant with blue skin and light blue markings all over its body and sharp spikes along the spine. It had large and sharp tusks as well. Instead of legs, it had long octopus-like tentacles. Finally, the elephant's trunk ended with an eel-like head filled with sharp teeth.

The Mega Greeed let out a bellow, floating around the fountain before it landed on top of it. Once it floated again, we saw the damage it made; a very large crater where the fountain used to be.

"Oh my god…" I uttered before we looked at the giant Greeed as it took notice of us. That's not good. "Ankh, I need the Cores!"

With that said, he presented the King Combo. "This will be a major payload for us." he smirked as he tossed them to me. I placed the King Combo into the Driver and scanned them. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

I got out the Medajalibur before looking at Team RWBY. "We need to keep it at bay in this area. If it roams more, it will devour the city."

Ruby nodded and turned to Weiss, "Weiss, can you set up an ice barrier big enough to contain that thing?"

She pondered for a moment before a grin appeared on her lips. "With pleasure." she answered as she used her Semblance, creating a large glyph that was on top of the area before a large ice-like dome was now covering the area. Weiss took a deep breath knowing that it used up most of her energy.

"Alright, now let's stop this thing!" Ruby said before we charged towards the Mega Greeed.

I brandished Medajalibur as we dodged its tentacles left and right before I used Batta Legs to jump onto the Mega Greeed's body and strike it. However, every time I delivered an attack, it didn't make much damage nor spill any Cell Medals. It used one of its tentacles to grab hold of me before throwing me to the ground. It was painful from how much force it used to throw me to the ground.

Ruby and Yang shot rounds onto it as it barely managed to pierce its hide but not much Cell Medals spilled from its body. When the Mega Greeed looked at the two sisters, it attempted to gobble them up but instead they dodged it quickly but the Mega Greeed used its tentacle to smack them away like rag dolls.

"Ruby! Yang!" I exclaimed. Weiss, Blake, and I looked at the Mega Greeed before it did the same attack to us, sending us flying until we landed next to Yang and Ruby. We didn't want to give up against the beast knowing that it it breaks through the dome, then the whole city will be devoured. "We have to keep trying! I know we can do this!"

The girls nodded as we continued our assault against the Mega Greeed. As we continued our attacks, we were struggling against the Mega Greeed. It's skin was just too thick to cut through and we don't have the SaGoZo Combo to get through its skin. Team RWBY were having a hard time as well as we were feeling the onset of exhaustion.

"It's too strong! How can we stop it!?" Ruby exclaimed.

I had to think, I had to do something. If I don't then lives will be lost, just like the incident at the first semester. No, I can't let that happen again. I am not gonna give up! Then it hit me. The Cores we recently got! A crocodile has a strong biting force and if that Core and the other two can change the tides, then it just might work. "Ankh! I need Kobura, Kame, and Wani! Just hand them to me, hurry!"

Ankh looked at me for a moment before he presented them. "Catch!" he informed before throwing them to me. I caught them before I switched the Cores and scanned them once more.

 **KOBURA!**

 **KAME!**

 **WANI!**

 **BURAKA~WANI!**

The Medals danced around me before the three orange ones appeared in a vertical line before combining into one and fusing with my chest. My armor instantly changed with a new appearance.

My head had orange armor markings along the side and on my face which resembled a beard and sideburns. Wrapped around the top of my head was a turban-like headdress which looked like a snake's body coiled around my head with a snake's tail coming out where a ponytail would. On top of my helmet was a dome-like area which resembled a cobra's hood. Just below the hood on my helmet was a purple gemstone which matched the eyepieces to my helmet.

My shoulders were covered with thick, slightly curved armor which was split into hexagonal sections. Orange lines running down my arms connected with my forearms which was completely shielded by large portions of armor which looked like a tortoise shell split in half, completed by orange squares on the back of my hands.

My legs had deep orange armor on my thighs that was ridged with black lines on my inner thighs, making them look like necks of a crocodile. The armor on my shins which went from knee to ankle and looked like half of a crocodile head with sawblade-like teeth running along my calves. With the Driver announced its name, this was BuraKaWani.

This power… it felt like my body was healing instantly and behind the lenses, I can see the heat everyone was emitting, like that of a snake. My legs… man how can I describe it? It felt like it has the urge to kick and tear things apart. So this is what its power can do. Now… time to test it.

"Hey sea-freak!" I shouted.

This caught its attention as it looked at me, snarling. "Come at me!"

I lunged its head at me before I heard the sound of a sea turtle. Testing it, I brought my arms up as the armor plates combined, forming a shield as the Greeed's head came in contact, causing it to reel back in pain. Damn, Kame Shield is very tough. With the sounds of a Crocodile, I delivered a kick to its head as the image of a crocodile appear as it actually pierced the Mega Greeed's skin, spilling a load of Cell Medals.

I ran to Ruby and the others as I knelt down. "You guys, I think I know what this can do." I stated as I placed my hand on Ruby's shoulder.

Ruby felt her exhaustion and her pain going away as she looks at me. "The combo heals us!"

I placed my hands on Yang and Weiss, as they too began to feel their exhaustion and pain being lifted. I then placed my hand on Blake's shoulder. "Like I said Blake, I will always be there to help my friends." I smiled behind my helmet as her body was healing.

They stood up and joined my side as we looked at the Mega Greeed, ready to fight it once more. "Ready, Team RWBY!"

"Let's show this monster what we can do as a team!" Ruby declared as we charged towards the Mega Greeed.

It bellow before it used one of its tentacles to hit us. "Get behind me!" I shouted to the four. They nodded as they took cover behind me before I used the Kame Shield to block the attack, releasing orange energy. Now Team RWBY took this chance as they fired their rounds that were filled with both Dust and Core Energy, causing the tentacle to spill a lot of Cell Medals before falling off, making the Mega Greeed to roar in pain.

"If we shoot off the tentacles, we can at least cripple its long-range strikes!" I informed the four as we continued our very best to fight the Mega Greeed.

* * *

 _Kougami was on a video chat with Ozpin, presenting the live footage of Team RWBY and OOO fighting the Mega Greeed. "It seems like this is the birth of a new power for OOO!" Kougami announced. "Team RWBY is doing wonderful work!"_

 _Ozpin watched carefully and saw that Kougami was right. The teamwork between the five was certainly well done. Enrique was using the new Combo's power as both offense with his kicks and helmet's ability as well as support, providing Team RWBY with defense as well as healing. Seeing how much determination the huntsman-in-training has to protect his friends and the lives of others… He was on his way to be something great._

 _Or something dangerous._

 _Only time would tell._

* * *

We continued our fight against the giant Greeed as it delivered another attack on us, sending us back a bit. I ran to Weiss as I used the Combo's ability to heal her. "Thanks, Enrique." Weiss thanked. I nodded as she charged forward with both her and Ruby jumped and delivered a slash on its tentacle, amputating it. "That's three down!" Yang informed as she avoid its teeth. She then took notice of something. "Enrique! Look out!"

I looked and saw the Mega Greed's tentacles were going after me, prompting me to avoid them or use the Kame Shield. Hearing the sounds of a Cobra, I grabbed a flute-like object and placed it close to the mouthguard of his helmet as I began to play a tune, causing the 'ponytail' on the back of my helmet to grow into a large cobra. It rose into the air with a mighty hiss.

"Now it's not the time to play music!" Weiss exclaimed, dodging an attack. The cobra continues to grow until I decided to change the tune the moment the Mega Yummy was gonna use its tentacles to attack me. Rather than sway about, it moved with purpose and struck like a Cobra would, at speeds not that many could follow.

It was striking each tentacle that tried to strike me before the cobra head caught one and bit through it, amputating yet another tentacle.

We were giving it our all as we continued our fight against it before we finally cut off the last tentacle from its body. The Mega Greeed roared at us, enraged for amputating its limbs and it was now in a weak state. "It's time to finish this!" I declared before I grabbed the O-Scanner and scan the Medals.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

Three floating orange rings appeared as OOO start running towards the Mega Greeed but before I can reach the first one, I leaned back and began sliding across the ground, feet first. Rather than stopping, I was moving like a snake. I passed through the first ring, then the second, and then the third, collecting power for the next strike as I went. I kicked off the ground and flew at the Mega Greeed for a kick just as another crocodile head appeared on both legs, much larger than before. It grew larger as I got close before my kick soon came in contact as I completely went through the Mega Greeed and landed on my feet but lost my balance while the Mega Greeed exploded as Cell Medals, Gamel's and Mezool's Medals rained down on us.

Ankh reached out with his Greeed arm shooting out to grab the Cores. However, two other individuals showed up and got their share as well. We saw both Kazari and Uva with their backs on us before turning around to look at us.

" **This is enough for now."** Uva said, looking at the Cores he has before he left.

Kazari hummed in amusement as he looked at his share before looking at us six. " **Interesting, OOO."** Kazari said. " **Especially seeing that Combo you are in."**

I panted under my helmet, glaring at the Feline Greeed.

"What are you up to!?" Yang demanded.

" **None of your concern, hothead."** he yawned, making Yang furious. " **But you now know this, the White Fang are under mine and my other partner's command."**

I took notice of Blake having a shocked look.

" **I had my fun already, you can take the cell medals."** He turned around as he waved off. " **See you all later."**

Yang looked like she wanted to tear Kazari a new one but Ruby stopped her. "Let it go, Yang." she pleaded. "I know you still want to go after him for what he did to us but you know how dangerous he is."

Yang looked at her little sister before she calmed herself down. "Alright.."

Ankh looked at his share and saw we got Gorilla and Unagi before absorbing them in his arm and began to collect the cell medals that were spread around the area. For me, I felt the effects of the new Full Combo hitting in as I fell on my knees until Ruby and Blake helped me up. "Thanks you guys." I weakly muttered.

"It's the least we can do for you helping us beat that Mega Greeed." Weiss said.

"Yeah and now two are gone which means that Uva and Kazari remain." Yang added. "Too bad they are now enemies to each other."

"It won't matter," Ankh huffed before he had a smirk. "Now we know what the new Combo can do; Healing, strike, and defend." He began to walk away before saying, "Let's go."

Ruby and Blake helped me walk but I looked at Ruby who seemed down. "Ruby, are you okay?" I asked. "Is it about Gamel?"

"Yeah… it's just that he seemed so lonely without Mezool." she answered. "And when I showed him kindness… he reacted."

"Reacted?" Blake asked.

The young scythe wielder nodded. "I think he is really not that evil. Mezool is the reason why he attacked us."

"He's gone now so no moping." Ankh said from the front.

Ruby looked down but I can understand what she was trying to do and she may have a point. Gamel is a child-minded Greeed and Ruby was nearly close to helping Gamel feel better. It makes me wonder, is Gamel a Greeed who can have a purpose, good or bad?

At least now, both him and Mezool are gone and we still have to deal with Kazari and Uva. Hopefully, we can get through the challenges that will approach us.

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Kobura (x1)**

 **Kame (x1)**

 **Wani (x1)**

 **Unagi (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

" _Aah… it's good to be back in Vale." The man said as he hoisted up the milk tank he carries._

"Mr. Akira!" Ruby and Yang said, happy to see him. Wait, they know him!?

"Y-You're his brother…." I muttered in shock to what Felix said.

 **Next Time:** Reunion, Familiarity, Siblings

* * *

 **A/N:** That is it for this chapter and the introduction of the BuraKaWani. Plus, I hoped you enjoyed the preview of the next chapter for I will be bringing in a familiar character to the story. Don't forget to check out my other stories as well. See you all later!


	18. Chapter 17:Reunion,Siblings,Familiarity

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the seventeenth chapter of OOO! I hoped you guys enjoyed the introduction of the BuraKaWani combo in the previous chapter as well as the fight against the Mega Greeed. Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc.)

I'm sorry for the late update as well. Like in my Chalice story, my internet is acting stupid on me and so I have to go to the bookstore to do my work and college work. Plus, I haven't been able to update much due to college classes and work but it doesn't stop me from working on my chapters for my stories. Also Chapter 3 of **The Divine Providence of the Three Kingdoms (Kamen Rider Gaim x Koihime Musou)** and chapter 11 of **Kamen Rider Dark Drive: Hyperdimension Road (Kamen Rider Drive x Hyperdimension Neptunia V)** will be uploaded soon once I finish both of them since it is taking longer than usual to think of how the chapter should go as well as the fight scenes. Anyways, enough talk, let us get back to the story, shall we?

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _A bullhead was in the air for a while before the pilot turned his head to the passenger. "We are landing in Vale; ETA, 3 minutes." he said before facing forward. "I gotta say, I'm surprised that they asked me to pick you up."_

" _Bah, I enjoyed my vacation." the passenger replied. "Besides, this job will help me out."_

 _The man was quite tall, standing close to six feet, with a muscular build hidden under his clothes. He wore a white t-shirt with a brown aviator jacket and blue jeans that were tucked into a pair of brown combat boots. His short black hair was slightly spiked and he sported a bit of a manly stubble on his face._

" _Vale has been having crazy moments including that incident." The pilot informed._

" _I have had my share." the man shrugged. He was informed of what has been going on in Vale but what made him surprise was who was helping the armored warrior, OOO. He couldn't help but smile knowing that they are okay and they certainly have grown since he last saw the two. The last time he saw them, they were little kids back at Patch especially after hearing how Yang's mother disappeared. Both him and Yang's mom were good friends and he knew that Yang wanted to know what happened to her. It pains him to know that she won't stop often in order to find her mom. Then there's Ruby and her mother Summer Rose._

 _When he saw Ruby, it was like looking at a younger version of Summer. When he heard about a mission that resulted with her death, this took Qrow and Taiyang hard the last time he heard. Losing two friends wasn't easy for the man either since they were close. At least now, the daughters of his two friends are still getting through things especially fighting a giant monster that was a Greeed from what he was informed. His thoughts were then interrupted when the pilot spoke up._

" _We are nearing Vale. Preparing to land." The pilot said, flipping a few switches as the Bullhead was preparing for landing. When it landed, the man got up before picking up a metal milk tank as clinking noises was heard inside it. He also grabbed his gauntlet/assault rifle hybrid and placed them on his wrist._

" _Thanks for the transport." The man thanked, patting the pilot's shoulder before exiting the aircraft. Once he stepped out, he took a good inhale before exhaling. "Aah… it's good to be back in Vale." The man said as he hoisted up the milk tank he carries. "Hmm… I wonder how Qrow's nieces are doing right now?"_

 _He began his trek to the certain place that he was hired by; The Kougami Foundation. The city hasn't changed much the last time he was here._

 _After a bit of a long walk, he looked at the paper in his hand then looked at the building in front of him. "So this is the Kougami Foundation." He muttered, hoisting his milk tank up a bit before entering the building._

 _Walking up to the front desk, the receptionist took notice of him. "You must be the one Kougami told me about. He is at the top floor." she said, gesturing to the elevator._

" _Thanks." he nodded before picking up his milk tank and entered the elevator. Hearing the music which he enjoys to be honest, he waited until the door opened, prompting him to walk out and see a large door. He approached it before knocking._

" _Enter."_

 _The man opened the door and saw Kougami and his assistant. "Ah, good to see you have arrived." Kougami smiled._

" _So you are Kougami?" he asked, curious. He heard how Kougami was the man who developed new ways of transportation and a new energy source._

" _That I am!" he joyfully said. "I like to thank you for coming here at such short notice. I heard about your career as a Huntsman and as a medic."_

" _Meh, it takes the cake but I enjoyed my vacation at Vacuo." the man smiled. His career as a Huntsman was well known along with being a wandering medic but he decided to take a vacation plus he wanted to travel around Remnant instead of fighting Grimm every now and then._

" _Ms. Haven, if you may."_

" _Yes sir." she nodded as she got up from her seat and placed a briefcase on the table before opening it, revealing a large two-handed gun which was black with yellow strips and another green and white gachapon ball decorating the sides. Near the front of the barrel and where the user would hold the gun to keep steady was a clear cylindrical container which the ammo of the device could be put into. The top of the gun was flat with a hole, to allow something to be locked into place. The barrel of the gun had a similar configuration, but rather than a round hole for bullets to come out of, it was a rectangular slot. Along with the container and rifle was a manual and a mechanism that was meant for the weapons he currently has._

" _We have created a weapon especially for you to handle the Yummies and Greeed. My scientists are still currently developing more ways to fight them" Kougami explained as the man checked the rifle before placing it back in the case. "I'm sure you received my delivery a couple of days ago."_

 _The man shook the milk tank that was on the ground. "Yeah. I'm surprised these coins can act as ammo though." he commented. "So when do I start my job?"_

" _Today! You are to head to Beacon Academy, I already informed Ozpin."_

" _Ozpin? Haven't heard that name and that school in a long time." the man chuckled in amusement. "I wonder if Goodwitch is still there for the lady she is."_

 _Beacon Academy. It was the combat school he graduated from, not to mention met Qrow, Taiyang, and the others he became friends with. He may have been on a different team back then but he enjoyed hanging out with them during their leisure time. Goodwitch on the other hand was strict on him back then as well; he still remembers how she gave him the penalty by cleaning the statue, twice._

 _Kougami laughed heartily at the man's personality. "Good luck and Happy Birthday, Akira Date!"_

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 17: Reunion, Familiarity, Siblings**

It has been a day since the Mega Greeed attack as well as testing the new combo. Turns out, Ankh said that the journal mentioned the combo being named the Legendary Combo. We also had to report what happened at the park to Headmaster Ozpin. Goodwitch was gonna scold us _and_ Ankh for going after Gamel knowing that the incident from before that Gamel caused created a lot of worry and they consider him _very_ dangerous and avoided at all costs but Ozpin prevented it knowing that we fought the Mega Greeed with Gamel and Mezool no longer a problem. I'm just glad that we beated the giant kaijin yesterday and lived.

Right now, I was in the cafeteria with my friends and Ankh, who was eating ice cream yet again and I recovered from my exhaustion from using the new Full Combo yesterday; at least my body is starting to get used to the power of the Full Combo. On the table was the Combo I used yesterday since I managed to ask Ankh to show it to Team JNPR who were staring at the three Cores.

"So these are the Unknown Cores…?" Jaune asked.

"Yep and the abilities are healing, shielding, and striking by summoning a cobra of course." I nodded. "It also allows me to see infrared through the lenses."

"You summoned a snakey! Can we see it?" Nora asked, eyes sparkling in excitement.

"Nora." Ren informed the orange-haired spitfire. "He can't since it wastes his energy."

"Aww…" she pouted.

"We lost Sai, Zou, and two Tako Cores though." I added. "But we got back Gorilla and Unagi."

"That sucks…" Jaune muttered. "So we now have to deal with Kazari and Uva, huh?"

"Pretty much but the two are now against each other." I answered, taking a sip of my orange juice. "Hopefully we will have the chance to beat them." I know that the two Greeed are gonna be tough but with Ankh training me, I am sure we can get through it with his help. Hopefully my skills will improve more during this semester since Kazari now has the White Fang at his side and is skillful, even with a small number of Core Medals.

"Just wait until I get my hands on that Kazari." Yang punched her fists together. "I will give that guy the beating of a lifetime!"

"Good luck with that." Ankh scoffed at the blonde brawler's declaration before throwing his popsicle stick to the trash can at the corner. "I remember how you got punched brutally before getting a tap on the forehead by him. His speed is something not to be underestimated."

"That doesn't mean I can't beat him next time," Yang crossed her arms. We all know that she wants to beat Kazari for what he did, especially for what he did to Ruby. Ruby, Blake, Weiss, and I just hope she doesn't get herself killed if she goes after him. I was painfully reminded what the Feline Greeed did to my friends and Yang has been holding a grudge on him ever since.

Ankh grabbed the Legendary Combo and placed them in the book before we all got up since we finished our lunch and left the cafeteria. When we were at the courtyard, I took notice of Headmaster Ozpin and Professor Goodwitch walking out of the entrance and heading the to landing zone. "What are you two doing?" Ankh questioned.

"We have a visitor coming to Beacon." Ozpin answered. He looked up, "Oh, looks like he is here." The headmaster and mistress walked to the landing zone, expecting their visitor.

Team RWBY and I blinked before we turned our heads to where Goodwitch and Ozpin were walking towards and saw a Bullhead with the Kougami Foundation logo on the side, landing on the landing pad. Once it landed, the door opened before a man walked out, making my jaw dropped as I easily recognized who I was seeing with my very own eyes.

The man was quite tall, standing close to six feet, with a muscular build hidden under his clothes. He wore a white t-shirt with a brown aviator jacket and blue jeans that were tucked into a pair of brown combat boots. His short black hair was slightly spiked and he sported a bit of a manly stubble on his face. On his back, he was carrying a milk tank and on his hand was a briefcase and some bags while on his wrists were what looks to be silver braces, similar to Yang's Ember Celica.

"Hey Ozpin, still looking the same as ever, you too Glynda." He said. Yep, I wasn't hearing things. This was Akira Date, _the_ Akira Date. First there was Ankh's human form, then Kougami, and now Akira?!

"It has been awhile, Akira. You certainly have changed since you graduated." Ozpin chuckled as the two walked up to the him.

"Ruby… you heard what Ozpin said right?" Yang asked.

"I did! It's really him!" Ruby said before the two run to him. "Mr. Akira!" the two said, happy to see him.

Wait, they know him!?

Akira noticed the two as his expression turned into a joyful one. "Well, I'll be." he smiled. "If it isn't Ruby and Yang. It has been a long time since I last saw you two." He patted their heads and to our surprise, Yang didn't punch Akira for messing with her hair. I was speechless from seeing this; Ruby and Yang knew Akira when the two were kids. "Last time I saw you two, you were little and now look at you, teenagers enrolled in the wonderful Beacon Academy."

"Yep and I'm the leader of a team! Yang is part of my team, too!" Ruby replied joyfully.

"Really now? What's the name of the team?" he asked.

"Team RWBY! R-W-B-Y."

"Now that's ironic. It's like your name except with a 'W' instead of a 'U'." Akira commented as he hoisted up his milk tank. "I'll talk to you two in a bit, I have to talk with Ozpin for a moment."

"Alright." the two nodded before the sisters walked back to us.

"You two know him?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah. That's Akira Date, he's from Patch." Yang nodded. "He is a close friend with our family and he was also my teacher for close combat plus he is also a 'wandering' doctor. He took me under his wing back then."

"WHAT!? He was the one who taught you to fight!?" Weiss and I asked incredulously. If she fights like that, it makes me wonder how strong this world's Akira Date is. I know that he is considered the wandering doctor in the series as well as Kamen Rider Birth but in this world he is not only a medic but a Huntsman too?

"How do you explain the gauntlets he has? Ember Celica was an inspiration from his but with more _punch_ to it." She said with a pun, causing us to facepalm. Of all things, she had to say a pun right now. I looked at Akira then at Yang and definitely saw some similarities to their weapons. She was literally being honest and truthful to her words and from hearing this, it sounds like she respects him as well and to top it all, being a family friend.

"When was the last time you two saw him?" Blake asked.

"When I was 12 and Ruby was 10." Yang replied. Wow, so they haven't seen him for 5 years and still remember him. "He used to visit us often back at Patch." the two looked back as we saw Ozpin, Glynda, and Akira talking. "I wonder what brings him here to Beacon though."

"Me too." Ruby agreed.

We then took notice of Akira thanking Ozpin before he approached the six of us. He then looked at me and Ankh and his eyes widen a bit in surprise. He placed down his milk tank, briefcase, and bags before opening the milk tank and grab something from inside. What he pulled out was a manual and flipped the pages.

"Let's see…" he muttered, flipping the pages until he stopped and found what he was looking for. "Ah, here it is." He looked at me. "Enrique Alderete, who transforms into OOO." He recalled before looking at Ankh. "So that mean's you must be the arm possessor, Anko!" He gave us a thumbs up but the rest of us utterly laughed from hearing what Akira called him. It was just like in the show when Akira called Ankh, Anko.

"Bwahahaha!" I laughed.

"R-red bean jam…?" Yang laughed. "Hahahaha!"

This was too good to hear as the Bird Greed's eye twitched from this while the five of us laughed at the name. "It's Ankh." Ankh growled in irritation, having the need to punch the daylights out of Akira for calling him that. "Not Anko, dumbass."

Akira blinked before going over the manual again. "Oops. I guess I misread it. My bad." he said. "I hate reading manuals anyway." He threw the book in the milk tank but it toppled over and spilled…. Cell Medals!

"Aah!" He screamed before he began to collect the Cell Medals he spilled. We sweatdropped from his reaction as he places them back in the milk tank.

"Why do you have Cell Medals?!" Ankh demanded, now forgetting on the name that Akira misnamed him for.

Akira finished collecting them and placed them back in the milk tank before he got up and looked at us. "You can say it's part of the job that I was hired to do." he responded as he picks up the milk tank.

"Job? Were you hired by the Kougami Foundation?" Blake asked. She must have took notice of the words on the cover of the manual that Akira had as well. I know in the series he was hired to collect them for Maki and to use the Birth system but it seems this is different. Of course, it's not like the series since, like before, there's always going to be a variable that'll divert away from the canon story.

"Yep." he nodded. "Now if you excuse me, I am gonna eat. That trip made me hungry." he walked away to the cafeteria.

* * *

After the chat with this world's Akira Date, I was in the training room testing myself again against the drones. I was currently wearing my training clothes which consist of a black gym shirt and gray pants.

Ankh was at the courtyard, trying to know more about Akira since Ruby and Yang mentioned he is well known Hunter like their uncle as well as being a medic. I am still surprised that there is _even_ a Akira Date here in this world. Is there a possibility that the Birth System will appear soon?

Just as I slashed away another droid, I took notice of Blake entering the training room and look surprised to see me. "Enrique? What are you doing here?" she asked, somewhat surprised to see me here.

I stopped the drone and deactivated it. "Just training. Ankh wanted me to practice knowing that Kazari is planning something." I replied. "Are you here to practice as well?"

She nodded. "After what Kazari did, I wanted to find a way to hone my skills that way I won't be caught off guard like before when…"

"When he knew you are a Faunus...?" I finished. The ebony kunoichi slowly nodded.

I pondered for a moment before a lightbulb popped up. "I have an idea. How about you and I spar against each other?" I suggested. I may have lost on a spar match against Cinder but maybe this one I can win… hopefully.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah besides, Ankh has been teaching me so I can use what he taught me so far as a way to fight better. The festival is coming up remember?"

"You do have a point. So, should we begin?" she asked as I had a confident grin, "Right back at 'ya." I nodded as the both of us got our respective weapons ready. We bowed to each other and entered our ready stances.

"Begin!" Blake came at me with Gambol Shroud and sparks flew as the edge of her cleaver-like scabbard slammed against my sword.

I pushed away before using the Medajalibur to strike diagonally in which Blake dodged and used the blunt end of her Gambol Shroud to hit my chest, causing me to stagger back. She charged forward before I went on the defensive to block her next two attacks before I moved to the side and used the flat end of my blade to strike her I which she stumbled forward a bit before looking at me as we got back into a stances again, circling each other.

I held my grip on the Medajalibur tightly as I focused on her. We charged at each other once more as our swords were casting sparks which each collision. When Blake tried to strike me with her sword, I quickly parried it and pushed her away before she now went into what looked to be using her Gambol Shroud for a dual wield.

Now this is getting interesting. Should I transform? This was just a spar, but I didn't want to lose. Then again, I didn't use my armor against Cinder on the previous spar. I just have to push myself in this. It's all or nothing.

She charged forward as I blocked her first attack and saw she was using one of her blades before she used her other and struck me, causing me to stagger back. I took notice of her jumping in the air to strike down, so I quickly rolled across the ground and blocked her next attack. I saw the other blade coming so I used the metal brace on my right sleeve to block the attack.

I gotta say, the jacket does provide some protective defense when it comes to situations like this. I swung my arm to move her blade away as I used the blunt end of the Medajalibur to hit her stomach... to my regret. Huh, since when did I have that strange feeling again?

The cat Faunus cringed before she kicked my blade out of my grip, sending it behind me. I looked at my sword that was embedded in the ground across from me then at Blake who has a grin. Now I was unarmed but that doesn't mean I can still fight.

"Do you concede?" She asked with a grin.

I looked at her for a moment before I smirked, "Nope." I kicked her blade up as it was now in the air before I blocked her other blade's strike. She took notice of her Gambol Shroud coming down which made me take the initiative to kick her away and ran towards my Medajalibur.

Blake caught her sword and charged towards me. However, I got hold of the grip of my sword and pulled it out of the ground and swung it with the kunoichi doing the same. The result, the edge of our respective swords were close to our necks.

We were panting from how long we fought as we held our blades against each other's necks. We smiled before we heard the sound of applause.

This made us pause and we saw Cinder enter the training room with two other people. Her teammates, perhaps?

The first person was a thin female with medium-brown skin and dark-red eyes. Her hair is a light, mint-green cut with a straight fringe and bangs, as well as two long locks on each side, in the back. She wears two bronze-colored rings on her middle fingers as well as a pair of high-heeled shoes.

Her attire consisted of an intricate, exotic-looking white top and olive undershirt, on the back of which is her personal emblem. This emblem is in the shape of a cut gem. This was intended to be accompanied by white shorts, decorated with what appears to be a gold coin-plated belt, with four gold chains draping around her back from two of the coins and what seems to be a green loincloth. She also wore a gold, three-ring armband on her left arm and a string of gold beads near the same wrist. She was also wearing white pants and brown chaps that end at her calves and an overlong belt, twice-wrapped.

The second was a grey haired boy. He is a well-built man with pale skin, silvery gray eyes and hair that is partially slicked back while unkempt at the front. He also wears a gray and black two-tone partial-zip jacket, that covers his upper body. He wears a single notched belt with what appears to be a sash or bandana draped over it. It is unclear whether his rerebraces are attached to his jacket.

"That was an interesting fight you two." Cinder complimented. "I am a bit surprised you caught up with her when you lost against me two days ago."

I looked at Blake and nodded, making the both of us lower our swords before I look at Cinder. "As before, Ankh wanted me to fight better and he trains me." I explained. "Anyways, who are your two friends? Are they your teammates?"

"They are." She smiled before gesturing to the mint haired girl. "This is Emerald Sustrai." She then gestured to the silver gray haired man. "And this is Mercury Black."

"Nice to meet you two. The names Enrique Alderete," I introduced myself to Cinder's teammates.

"You know, from how Cinder talks about you, I thought you'd be taller," Mercury commented. Emerald elbowed him.

"Don't mind Mercury. He doesn't have social skills,"

"It's alright," I waved off as I sheathed Medajalibur. "Blake and I are finished with the spar anyway."

Blake sheathed her Gambol Shroud, "how long were you watching us spar?" She asked.

"When you two first clashed your blades," Cinder replied. Guess she watched the entire spar then.

"Oh," I said. "Well hoped you watched a good spar between Blake and I."

"We did indeed," Cinder smiled.

"I should head back to the dorm. Ankh is probably eating his stash of ice cream… Again." I said before Blake and I walked to the exit, "See ya Cinder."

She nodded with a smile before Blake and I left the training room. As Blake and I were walking back to our respective dorms to get ourselves cleaned up since we sparred against each other and a cool shower was needed. "Another day of training done," I said.

"And a good spar," Blake added with a small smile.

"Can't believe that we were at a draw though," I recalled. We were neck and neck with the result was our respective blades near our necks. I was surprised that we were a tie but we weren't holding back either.

"It is from your training from Ankh," she assumed. "You did mention that he gives you more training than the rest of us."

"Right about that," I nodded.

She did prove a point. When I first enrolled in Beacon, I had no knowledge of fighting despite fighting the Mantis Yummy. Now, I know how to fight and surprisingly, getting better by the day due to Ankh's teachings. To be honest, he is like a mentor to me despite being a jerk. I understood why he has been teaching me when I saw the video that Ozpin showed Ankh helping that blind girl.

A ghost can bring back one's past. For Ankh, it was that girl he met in which it possibly reminds him of the one he met in the past.

When we made it to the doors of our respective dorms, I turned my head to look at Blake. "Hey Blake, maybe we can spar again sometime." I offered. "That way we can see who wins next time."

She looked at me before a grin appeared on her lips. "I accept your challenge," she accepted.

"See you later, Blake." I said before entering my dorm room. Once I entered, I saw Ankh on the top bunk, eating his ice cream while going through his Scroll, counting the Medals we currently have.

"Looks like you are back," he noted.

"I just finished sparring with Blake. We were at a stalemate," I responded as I looked at the clothes to wear for the rest of the day.

Hearing this made Ankh take a glance at me, looking at me for a moment before going back to his Scroll. "You are improving, good," he complimented.

Wait, did he just gave me a compliment?

"Did you just made a compliment…?" I asked.

"You didn't hear anything." He denied.

I deadpanned upon his answer. I did hear him give me a compliment. As much as I wanted to prove he did say it, I rather not argue with him. After getting my clothes that I was planning to wear, I went to the bathroom for a much needed cool shower.

Once done, I walked out wearing my casual clothes as I grab my jacket to put on. Just as I put on my jacket, my Scroll went off, showing that I got a message. I blinked before reaching in my pocket and pulled it out and checked who sent a message.

 _Meet me in the pier in 30 minutes. Don't let anyone follow you and don't bring anyone with you_

I slightly narrowed my eyes from this. The sender was anonymous but this made me concern. Whoever sent it knew my number and wants to see me alone.

I took a glance at Ankh who was busy on his Scroll before looking back at my own. As much as I want to tell him or the others, I couldn't risk it. So, I went for the door and left my dorm room.

Just who sent that message? It couldn't be Kazari or Uva since they use the social board for any news from what I can gather.

I walked to the landing pad and entered s bullhead that soon took me to Vale.

* * *

After driving for awhile on the RideVendor, I made it to the pier and got off the motorcycle. I looked around as the cool air swept through my skin. It felt nice until I heard the sound of a motorcycle approaching my direction.

I turned my head and saw another RideVendor but on it was that Biker Guy Huntsman as he stopped his bike and got off. "Looks like you got my message." he said.

"Wait, you sent it?" he nodded to my question. "Why did you want to see me?"

"Firstly to thank you, for saving my life and the rest of the squad. The one who got stabbed by Uva will pull through." This gave me relief to hear that his squad is okay. "And to talk to you about that Bird Greeed."

I expected this since Ankh did throw him off the bike to get back his Kujaku Core. "Is it about what he did to you yesterday?" I asked.

The Huntsman shook his head. "No…" he said as his tone became that of a hint of anger. "Tell me this, how long is Ankh gonna be possessing that officer?"

"Well if what he said-"

By sudden surprise and shock, he got hold of my collar and demanded, "HOW MUCH LONGER DAMMIT!?"

I flinched from his tone. "I don't know, okay! All I know is that Ankh will stay until he gets back his Cores!" I replied. "Once Ankh gets his Cores, I am sure he will disconnect from him and he did mention healing the body as he stays." I looked at him as I could see my reflection from his helmet. "Just why are you so worked up about this? First it was back at the hotel when Uva tried to kill him and now this? Not to mention Ms. Haven being sad upon seeing Nathan's unconscious body. What is your connection to this?"

The Huntsman released his grip on my collar before he removed his helmet for the first time in front of me. Once he took it off, it revealed a man in his mid-twenties with dark spiky hair, fair skin, and dark green eyes. "Because the officer that the bastard bird Ankh is possessing, Nathan Westborn…. he is my little brother!" he answered. "I am his older brother, Felix Westborn."

This made my eyes widened upon hearing this. "Y-You're his brother…" I muttered in shock to what Felix said. "T-Then what's Ms. Haven's connection…?" I didn't want to hear more from this but I had to for it was painful for me to hear. If I wanted to know more about Nathan's past or anything about him, this was it.

"Aria is Nathan's fiancee." Now this put a drop into my heart from hearing this. Ankh possessed a young officer who not only has an older brother who looks to be one or two years than him but is engaged to the assistant of the Kougami foundation. "Do you know how much grief Aria and I were in when we first learned about my little brother's body vanished!? It was painful and when I thought I got to see him alive, he is being possessed by a damn Greeed who is using him as a puppet!"

"I-I…." I tried to find an answer to say something to him. This was just too much for me to hear. "I didn't know…" I muttered, my eyes on the verge of tears. This was just too painful for me upon learning this. "Felix… I'm sorry. I didn't know you were hurt that much from this. I know how it feels."

"How would you know?! Like you would understand how it is!"

"Really, I do." I responded before looking down. "...You're looking at someone who lost everything…. even being left as an orphan…"

He looked at me with a bit of surprise. "You lost everything…?"

I nodded in confirmation. "When I was 11, I lost my father in combat… 3 years later, at age 14, I lost my mom and little sister in a car accident on the same day I lost my father. I was the only survivor of the car accident, seeing my mom's dead body right in front of my own eyes…" I explained. "After that… I lost my home, my own selfishness… even lost a part of my own life. I was bullied, pushed around, even beaten by other kids. Now, I made a promise after their death that I will help people… even help them see that they should cherish with what they have before they make the wrong choice and lose everything.."

This made Felix look at me in a different light. "How can a guy like you continue after what happened?"

"I take one small step at a time, trying to cope with what happened back then." I answered. "If you don't trust me… you have every right not to. Lord knows I have been doing my best."

He looked at me before he took a deep breath and sighed. "No… I don't have the right to not trust you." he shook his head before taking another deep breath to calm himself down, making me look at him. "You were doing what you can. At least hearing from you, I know my little brother will be okay soon. I apologize for snapping at you."

"I-It's okay. I understand. I would have done the same thing."

He reached in his pocket, looking for something before he presented it to me. "Here." he handed me, to my surprise, the Kujaku Core and some device.

"You're giving this to me? Even after Ankh is possessing your brother and tried to get back the Core two days ago." I asked. "I can't take this Core. After what Ankh tried to do to you and hearing what you said, I can't."

"Just keep it. Consider this a debt for saving me and the rest of my squad. The device will prevent any Greeed from sensing the Core Energy it emits." he answered. "That Bird may be possessing my brother but _you_ … you can make sure he gets through it. If that idiotic bird really is healing him by the day then it's more than enough to hear that he will be okay..."

I looked at the Kujaku Core as I went into thought. Ankh really did possess someone who has a family and now it pains me to know it. I looked at Felix and said, "I'll make sure your brother doesn't get hurt. I know Ankh is possessing him but I promise that he gets through it." I vowed. "I know how it is for family." I reached my hand out as he looked at me for a moment, as if he is staring into my own soul, seeing any hint of deception or lies before grabbing hold and shook it.

"I hope so..." he nodded before he walked away and got on his RideVendor. Once he got hold of his helmet, he looked at me. "Good luck fighting the Greeed. Don't let that Bird get my brother killed. I don't trust that Ankh one bit. You need to watch your back as well for when he gets back his Cores, he will betray you the moment you turn your back on him." He put on his helmet before driving away.

Watching him drive away, I couldn't help but feel guilty inside. Seeing him worried about the safety of his brother that Ankh is possessing and I never realized it. But now… now I know the body of Nathan Westborn has a family. When I make promises, I make sure they are kept and I will make sure Ankh doesn't let the body he is possessing get mortally wounded or killed.

However hearing that Ankh would betray me and my friends… I don't think he would. I don't know why but it is a gut feeling that he might open up eventually. He may be a jerk but there are times I really consider him as a friend even as a mentor to fighting. There is still a part of him that he still has for the past 800 years; his kindness. He may not show it but he expresses it sometimes.

I placed the Kujaku Core in my pocket before I walked to my RideVendor, got on, and drove away, back to Beacon.

* * *

Once I made it back to Beacon, I headed to the cafeteria to eat dinner since I was hungry. Just as I was gonna turn to the corner, I saw Akira who was looking over a familiar weapon to my surprise. The weapon in his grip was a large two-handed gun which was black with yellow strips and another green and white gachapon ball decorating the sides. Near the front of the barrel and where the user would hold the gun to keep steady was a clear cylindrical container which the ammo of the device could be put into. The top of the gun was flat with a hole, to allow something to be locked into place. The barrel of the gun had a similar configuration, but rather than a round hole for bullets to come out of, it was a rectangular slot.

He was holding onto the Birth Buster as I watched him load up ammo into the rifle before aiming at the drones and fired his rounds onto each one. Like in the series, he was adjusting to the recoil really well for someone who is a medic, and in this world, also a Huntsman.

I took notice of Ruby ogling the rifle that Akira is using and saw this as the right time to surprise her, a mischievous grin appearing on my face. I slowly but surely began to sneak up on her to give her a small scare. Once I was close enough to her, I whispered in her ear, "Boo!"

"EEP!" She jumped in fright.

I laughed upon her reaction in which she turned around and saw me. "Enrique? You did that?"

"Sorry Ruby, I thought it was the perfect time to do that." I answered, making her pout.

"That was mean," she puffed her cheeks,

"Sorry," I apologized with a smile. "So you are watching Akira using the Birth Buster?"

She nodded, "I can't believe that the Kougami Foundation made another weapon. I want one from them so bad now."

"Is it because of what my Medajalibur can do and the weapon Akira has?" I asked. She nodded.

"Won't that mean you are betraying your Crescent Rose?" I raised an eyebrow, a grin appearing on my face.

This made her look like she was gonna panic, "I will never betray my precious Crescent Rose!" She defended, hugging the said weapon tightly.

This made me let out a chuckle. "You and your weapons," I teased, making her blush a bit in embarrassment.

Her expression changed before she spoke up. "Hey Enrique, can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"My team is planning on investigating on what has been going on between the White Fang and Torchwick. I was wondering if you can help us out?"

"Ruby, you know that not only I'm in a solo team but I'm assigned to your team as well?" I reminded. "So of course I'll help out. You guys are my friends and teammates after all."

Hearing this made her smile. "Thanks Enrique." She thanked.

I looked at her as she smiled at me. Seeing her expression, I swore I saw my little sister standing in her place, causing me to shake my head.

"Are you alright?" asked Ruby.

"I'm alright, just having some stuff to think about," I answered. "I'll be at the cafeteria if you need anything Ruby."

"Okay."

I began my walk to the cafeteria to get myself dinner. Once there, I got my food and sat on the chair, I stare at at my food remembering what happened. When I saw Ruby's smile, it kept bringing back memories of my little sister. It was like whenever she smiles like that, Marie would often be in her place instead.

My expression faltered into a sad smile. Ruby and Marie were similar in a way. They both want to help those they care about, they are cheerful, and having an older sibling.

"Guess they aren't that much different after all…" I muttered with a smile before eating my food. There was something else about Ruby as well, it felt like I can see the sadness she was hiding.

I took notice of Pyrrha placing her tray on the table. "Oh hey Pyrrha."

"Hey Enrique, guess you are eating too?" She asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "My training from earlier made me hungry."

She held back a giggle before she spoke up. "I heard from Yang that someone from the Kougami Foundation is here."

"Akira Date. He is also a family friend to Ruby and Yang."

This caught her by surprise. "I didn't know he was a family friend to the two."

"I didn't know either." I agreed. "He is also staying here in Beacon from what I also heard."

We ate as we were quiet until Pyrrha decided to interrupt the silence. "Enrique, there is something I wanted to ask you."

"What's up?"

She slightly fidgeted a bit before saying. "You think Jaune will ask me to the dance?"

I blinked from her question. "Well…" I rubbed the back of my head. "Probably but I'm not that sure. I'm not trying to lower your hopes or anything but I think you should ask him when you have the chance." I took a bite of my food before swallowing to continue. "Since the dance is coming up, you should ask him."

"You think I should?"

"Of course." I assured. "He may be a bit dense but I'm sure he will accept."

Her smile beamed before nodding. "Thanks for the advice," she thanked.

"No problem, Pyrrha. I'm always here to help out my friends." I smiled. Before she can continue to speak up, we heard the cafeteria door slam open. We turned our heads to the source and saw a pissed off Ankh with a twitching eyebrow.

"Something made Ankh upset," I noted.

Ankh marched up to me before he forces me to stand up, "You better tell me why in the hell he is crashing in our dorm!?"

"What are you talking about?" I asked, wondering what he meant.

"That Akira guy! He is sleeping in our dorm!" He barked.

I blinked before his statement finally registered in my head. "EEEHH!?" I exclaimed. I darted my head to Pyrrha, "Sorry Pyrrha but I got to go find out about this!"

The both of us ran out of the cafeteria and ran to our dorm room.

* * *

Once we made it, I unlocked it and saw none other than Akira in a sleeping bag, showing only his face as he snores. Not only that his other set of clothes were hanging by the corner of the room, his aviators jacket was over the chair, the milk tank filled with Cell Medals was standing by the corner, and even his own boots were scattered on the floor!

Oh god, it was like in the show when he sleeps in Maki's lab. Ankh on the other hand had a very angry look with a vein on his forehead. "I'm gonna kick his ass for this!" Ankh roared as he got his Greeed arm out.

I panicked before I got in front of him. "Wait! Ankh, if he is crashing here then I think it is because Ozpin allowed him." I explained, trying to stop him from attempting to hurt Akira. "Plus we _are_ right across from Team RWBY's dorm. Maybe he wanted to be near those he knew. You heard what Ruby and Yang said? He's a family friend to their parents."

He growled from my statement before jabbing a finger to my chest. "Four boxes of ice cream a day, got it!?" He demanded.

I sighed before giving him a nod. I just hope that Ankh can get along with Akira. There is no doubt that I will be hearing an argument between the two eventually.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, trying to prevent a headache from occurring to what is going on right now.

First, there is a Akira Date in this world and he is considered Yang's former mentor. Secondly, he is hired by the Kougami Foundation with no Maki here at all (thank god for that) to collect Cell Medals. Now he is sleeping in our dorm with his stuff lying around by the corner.

I just hope Ankh can get through this without killing him.

* * *

 _In the White Fang base, Kazari, who was in his human form, was leaning against the wall, looking over the old journal he held onto before he was sealed, looking through pages that had information about the Multi-King and Gara himself._

 _Remembering that name left a sour taste in his mouth. The man who created him and the other Greeed._

 _Good thing he was long dead now. Good riddance too._

" _Sir, Torchwick wants to see you." A White Fang soldier informed._

 _Ever since the deal, Kazari became leader of the organization, alongside Adam. The White Fang didn't like him at first but hearing from Adam, they had to follow command even if the Feline Greeed looks human._

" _I wonder what the criminal wants?" He wondered out loud before following the White Fang soldier._

 _When they made it to the where Torchwick is, he was standing by a large object that was covered by a veil. "What have you brought, Torchwick?"_

" _Just a little gift that my contacts gave me," he replied. "You know how hard it is to get my hands one of these?"_

" _Something that takes time that doesn't bother me," the Feline Greeed answered._

 _The criminal slightly frowned. He really hates the Feline Greeed. "Well let me show you what I got." He said before removing the veil, revealing what it was, making Kazari grin._

" _You are a lucky man, Torchwick." Kazari commented._

" _I am the best." He replied before he took notice of Kazari now reading a journal. "Why are you reading?"_

" _Something I need to test."_

 _When Kazari continued to read the log, he discovered something very interesting. He looked at the three Cores that he kept in his pocket, feeling the Core Energy it was emitting; Unagi, Tako, and Sai._

 _Checking if it is possible, he grabbed the three Cores and absorbed them into his body. The moment he did, he felt foreign power coursing through his body._

 _Going into his Greeed form, he turned his head to the crates and thrusted his arm out while focusing on the power of one of Mezool's Cores. Once he did, highly pressurized water shot out of his hand and hit the crates, sending them flying._

" _Now that was a surprise," Torchwick commented, seeing what the Feline Greeed can now do._

 _Seeing the result made him have a toothy grin. He was now able to use Mezool's power to conjure water blasts. If he can gather some of the other Cores, he can use their abilities but he has to tread carefully._

 _Like Gamel and Mezool, too much will cause pain and result with becoming a Mega Greeed._ _ **"I hope you are ready for what comes to you, OOO.**_ _" He said._

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x2)**

 **Kujaku (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Kobura (x1)**

 **Kame (x1)**

 **Wani (x1)**

 **Unagi (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"Alright, guys, today's the day! The investigation begins!" Ruby announced.

"Ankh and I will be helping out Yang." I remembered with Ankh having a twitching eyebrow of annoyance.

"Kazari…" Ankh said as all six of us now focused on him.

 **Next Time:** Investigation, Highway battle, Round 2

* * *

 **A/N:** Well that is it for this chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter as well as bringing Akira Date and the Birth Buster into the story. Don't worry, Birth will appear soon. Don't forget to check out my newest story, **Chalice: The Wild Card Chronicles (Kamen Rider Blade X High School DxD).** I will see you all next time! Stay in the shadows everyone!


	19. Chapter 18:Investigation, Highway Battle

**A/N:** What is up everyone! Sorry for the long wait, I have been really busy with college and work. I am here with the eighteenth chapter of OOO! I hope you enjoyed the introduction and debut of Akira Date and the Birth Buster. Don't forget to check out my newest story, **Chalice: The Wild Card Chronicles (Kamen Rider Blade x High School DxD)**.

I am glad you guys are enjoying the story so far and that I am thankful. This story is the best one I have amongst my Kamen Rider stories with my Dark Drive story being the second favorite. Anyways let us begin the chapter now shall we?

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

Another day as usual as I woke up for another day of class. I moved the blanket away from me as I yawned. I turned my head to look at the sleeping bag by the wall and saw that Akira was not there, only to see that he was cooking food in a small portable stove with a few opened cans by him. Wait what?

"Morning," He waved.

"Uh, morning?" I responded, watching him stir his food in the small pot. "Why are you cooking here?"

"I often cook my favorite meal in this time of morning," he answered, stirring the food in the pot. I took notice of the cans with their labels before I realized he is making his favorite food, oden. Guess this Akira likes that food as well and this world has the ingredients to make it.

However, I sweatdrop upon his response. Akira was a happy-go-lucky man in the show, I guess it is the same here as well. Still, Akira is now sleeping in the dorm with Ankh and I. The Bird Greeed however was mad and I had to promise him four boxes of ice cream a day.

"So, Enrique. I heard from Ruby that you are her first friend here in Beacon." Akira recalled, interrupting my thoughts.

"Yeah," I confirmed with a nod. "I often help her out at times. When I first met her, I was surprised she uses a large weapon, the scythe she called Crescent Rose."

Akira chuckled upon my remark. "Qrow did teach her to use a scythe. They are very difficult and deadly weapons to use and master."

"How did you meet this Qrow guy?" I asked, curious since the past for this Akira might be different.

"He is one of my good friends when I was here in Beacon. This is the school I graduated from." the man answered, gesturing his surroundings. "He along with three others in his team were good friends of mine."

Now this caught me by surprise, this world's Akira graduated from Beacon as a Huntsman and probably as the wandering doctor. "And your career as the 'wandering doctor'?"

"After becoming a Huntsman, I decided that being a medic can give me a small advantage to my Huntsman career." He explained, in which I nodded in agreement. "Eventually, I got that title since, as a trained medic, I travel around helping people with medicine and such."

"So that's how you got that title…" I muttered. This world's Akira is the same but adding the fact that he is a family friend to Ruby and Yang along with being a Huntsman who is Yang's mentor.

Akira turned off his mini-stove before he began to eat his breakfast. Gotta admit, he sure does love eating Oden.

I then noticed the bunk above me moving a bit, showing that Ankh is awake. He jumped off his bunk and adjusted his clothes before looking at Akira, who was busy eating his Oden, with a heated glare. "You better not make a mess with that Oden crap."

"Oi! Oden is what I enjoy eating!" Akira argued.

"Like I give a damn on what you enjoy eating," the Bird Greeed scoff upon Akira's response. Before I knew it, the two began to argue, butting heads against each other, leaving me to rub the bridge of my nose.

It has been only been a day and the two are already butting heads. At least Ankh will be away from him when the Bird Greeed and I will be helping Ruby and her team to investigate what Torchwick and the White Fang are planning.

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 18: Investigation, Highway battle, Round 2**

After the two were finally done arguing, Akira went to continue his practice with the Birth Buster since he has those gauntlets of his. Right now, I was heading to class since we won't start our investigation until the afternoon.

I looked at Ankh who has an irritated look on his face. "I still can't believe that Akira is sleeping in our dorm." He growled.

"You have to get used to it, Ankh." I informed. "You know that he will be helping us since the Kougami Foundation hired him."

Ankh clenched his fists more, wanting to vent out his anger since he hates the fact that Akira will be in our dorm. "If you need me, I'll be at the training room." He informed before walking ahead. I let out a sigh knowing that he is not happy that Akira is crashing in our dorm until the situation with the Greeed is handled which will take a while since they are no pushovers. What makes me curious about Akira is the fact that when will he get the Birth Driver?

Sure he made an appearance as Birth in the series but it seems he gets the Birth Buster first instead. I made my way to the first class, remembering what Ruby planned for the investigation.

For me and Ankh, we are to help Yang with her part of the investigation. Although, Ankh didn't want to be part of it but seeing as how that if we investigate there is a possibility of finding a Core Medal.

That and he wanted to be away from Akira.

I just hope Ankh can get along with him and not kill him. Being called Anko seems to piss him off greatly. The others thought it was funny that Ankh is being called that by Akira since Anko literally means red-bean jam and Ankh's color is red.

I snickered upon the memory.

"What's so funny?" A voice asked.

I blinked before looking back and saw Weiss. "Oh, hey Weiss," I greeted.

"Don't say hey when I was asking you a question." Weiss crossed her arm.

"Sorry about that," I apologized. "It's just that it's funny how Ankh is being called Anko by Akira since Ankh's Greeed arm is red and the word Anko being red-bean jam."

"Oh," she muttered. "What do you think of that man, Akira, was it?"

"He seems like a good guy. Being a family friend to Ruby's and Yang's dad and uncle, I can see why they know him so well." I answered. "Makes me wonder what he is gonna do when he begins his fight against the Greeed since Kougami gave him that Birth Buster."

"Still, why won't Kougami present his works to my father or to the Atlas Military?" Weiss furrowed her brows.

"You do remember the dangers of the cell medas?" I raised an eyebrow.

"I told you it was one time! Like that would happen again." She huffed, turning her head away and arms crossed.

I sighed, "I think it's best that the Kougami Foundation and Ankh collect the Cell Medals."

I then remembered the Cell Medals that Blake told me she pocketed. "And don't think about sending them to your family."

"Why would I-"

"Blake told me what you planned on doing." I responded. "Weiss, I know you want to use them for alternative means but this isn't a joke. Cell Medals are dangerous if not in right hands. The Kougami Foundation knows how to handle them. You have to let this go and don't send them to your family."

I placed my hand on her shoulder, "If you are trying to prove something, I think this isn't the answer." Weiss was quiet for a moment before she slowly reached in her pocket and handed me an envelope. I can tell there were Cell Medals inside based on the weight as well as the feeling. "I…" She tried to answer before saying, "You're right… Seeing what the Cell Medals can do to us, you have a point…"

"Thanks Weiss." I smiled.

"It's not like I needed your thanks or anything," she said, turning her head away.

I mentally sighed as one thing came across my mind.

' _She's definitely a Tsundere.'_

* * *

7 hours past and it was one minute until our last class ends for today. The holographic clock displayed from the time on my desk as Professor Port was yet again talking about one of his moments as a Huntsman. When will this guy ever realize that he is suppose to be teaching us?

Ankh left the classroom earlier and headed back to the dorm since he rather wait in the dorm room than listen to another one of Professor Port's stories. I then took notice of Jaune who slides up next to Weiss, who was also waiting for class to end and began to talk to her. From what I could hear, he was trying to ask her out. I slightly shook my head before looking at my notebook. Most of the stuff I wrote were notes in which I closed my notebook since class is almost over and Team RWBY and I were gonna start our investigation with to learn what the White Fang, Kazari, and Torchwick are planning.

And just in time, the holographic clock displayed the time now being 4:00 and I dismissed it with a wave of my hand while the professor was temporarily unaware of the alarm.

Just as he was posing as a towering monster, he continues his story, "And then I-Oh." he notices the time and straightens his stance as most of the students start to leave. "Time that one wrong, I guess. Well, the stunning conclusion to this story will have to wait. Until next time, students!"

I collect my books and got up from my desk before leaving the classroom. I looked back and saw Jaune faceplant of the desk, and to my guess Weiss rejected his offer. As I was heading to my dorm to get myself ready for the investigation, I bumped into someone.

"Sorry about tha- Cinder?" I apologized before realizing who I bumped into.

"Oh, hello Enrique. I'm surprised that I ran into you," she smiled.

I chucked nervously, "Hehehe…" I then noticed the time. "I'll see you later Cinder. I gotta meet up with my friends."

"See you later," she said, waving goodbye as I walked my way to my dorm.

When I made it to my dorm, I saw that Akira wasn't here since the case that held the Birth Buster was gone, showing that he is still testing the weapon. He must be taking the training seriously but this also gave me the chance for me to put on the clothes for the investigation.

I walked to my closet and opened it, revealing my clothes as I search through the one I was looking for until I found what I was looking for.

I grabbed the set of clothing that I needed and walked to the bathroom to change into my new set of clothes. Once I was done changing, I walked out of the bathroom, now wearing an unzipped, black jacket with a raised collar; with the ends of the collar able to button together. Under the jacket was a gray shirt with a black stripe running down the center.

I was also wearing black pants with a belt wrapped around it, sporting the TaToBa symbol on the silver buckle. I still wore my dad's old dog tags which hung around my neck. On my right sleeve was a few pieces of armor, acting as an armored gauntlet since I am left-handed and handle the Medajalibur with my left hand. On my feet were black shoes with the top part being gray while I wore fingerless gloves on my hands.

Gotta admit, the outfit looks cool.

Seeing that I am ready, I walked to my desk and grabbed the O-Driver before placing the buckle in my pocket. I turned my head to Ankh who was waiting by the door, impatient. "Are you ready or what?" He asked.

"What do you think?" I responded before the both of us walked out of the dorm and approached Team RWBY's door. Before opening the door, I knocked on it to make sure I don't walk in while they were changing. "Hey Ruby, are you guys ready?" I asked from the door.

"You can come in," The scythe-wielder answered.

Hearing that they were ready, I opened the door to their dorm and entered the room with Ankh closing the door behind us who then walked to the nearest chair he can sit on. I looked at the team and saw what they were wearing for the investigation.

Ruby was wearing a long-sleeve, light gray shirt with black belted cuffs near the ends of the sleeves. Over top of the gray shirt is a black pinafore with two vertical lines of red stitching that resemble the lacing on a corset.

She also wears a red skirt with a large black-colored print of her rose emblem on the side of it, and the inside of her skirt is black. She still wears her black stockings and black-and-red boots. A few pieces of metal arranged in an abstract shape are attached to her sleeve on her left shoulder, likely as a form of armor such as a spaulder. As usual, she wears a red cape with her outfit. However, her cape is short like the one she wears with her uniform, but with a scarf as part of the hood.

Weiss was wearing a pure white dress with black edging and two columns of four black buttons on the abdomen. Much like on the bolero of her original outfit, there is a print of her snowflake emblem on her back, in pale blue this time, rather than white.

The inside of the skirt portion of the dress contains black frills. She also wears thigh-high, white high-heel boots with frilly black thigh-high stockings that come up slightly above the top of her boots.

Blake was wearing a white v-neck zip-up shirt that is black along the bottom and has mid-length sleeves. Her belladonna flower emblem is printed in off-white on the left side of the shirt. She wears black pants that have a vertical gray stripe on the outer side of each leg, and she wears a black belt with them.

Attached to the inner side of the belt is a black, somewhat curved, banner-like piece of fabric that hangs from the back and extends forward to her hips. On the underside of this is a thinner, longer, similarly-shaped purple piece of fabric. Her black high-heel boots come halfway up her calves and have a pair of belted straps across them. She still wears her black ribbons on her arms and her black bow over her cat ears.

Seeing the way she is dressed caused me to blush lightly.

Finally, for Yang, she was wearing a collared cream top over a black shirt, and over top of the former is a black article of clothing that consists of a raised collar, a strap across her collarbone, and mid-length sleeves that are gold at the end. Around her neck is a pendant that has a smooth, round, purple gem set in a round piece of metal that has a point coming off the left and right sides and a small oval shape coming from the bottom. She has a pair of crooked black belts with gold accents across her hips, and a purple piece of fabric with lilac lace around the edges hangs from her left hip.

She has a dark gray article of clothing coming down from under her cream top that is a mini-skirt or part of her black shirt. It has vertical belted straps going down into her thigh-high black stockings, which have her burning heart emblem printed in yellow on the outer side of each leg near the top and a row of four gold pyramid studs above each knee.

She also wears a pair of black boots with a series of belted straps across them. On the back of each boot at the top is a large white ribbon tied into a bow.

"Nice outfits," I commented, leaning against the wall as Ankh sat on the chair, irritated since he is helping out with the investigation.

"The same thing should be said about you, Enrique," Yang purred, looking me over upon seeing my outfit. "That look _definitely_ suits you."

"Umm…" I stood back a bit, away from Yang.

"Oi, are we gonna investigate or are you just gonna flirt with him?" Ankh asked the blonde brawler, irritated.

From the corner of my eye, I took notice of Blake glaring at her partner. I was confused to why she was glaring at her. I wonder why?

Before more thoughts could come to mind, Ruby spoke up as she was sitting from her top bunk. "Alright, guys, today's the day! The investigation begins!" Ruby announced, happily leaping off her mattress and onto the floor.

Weiss rolled her eyes, arms crossed. "I'm glad to see we're taking this so seriously," she commented sarcastically.

Yang looked at Weiss. "Hey, we've got a plan!" She pointed out. "That's… moderately serious."

"Right!" The scythe wielder agreed. "Everyone remember their roles?"

"You and I will head to the CCT and check the Schnee records for any Dust robberies or inconsistencies. Seeing as I'm in the family, it shouldn't be a problem." Weiss said.

"The White Fang has regular faction meetings to hand out orders and recruit new members. If I can get in, I can hopefully find out what their planning." Blake adds, explaining her part.

"I have an old friend on the shady side of town that typically knows _everything_ going on in Vale." Yang smirks confidently.

"Ankh and I will be helping out Yang to back her up in case thing go wrong." I remembered with Ankh having a twitching eyebrow of annoyance and impatience. The Bird Greeed wasn't the patient type at all since he wants to get the investigation done quickly.

"Great, we'll meet up tonight near Yang, Enrique, and Ankh to go over what we found. Let's do this!" Ruby cheered only to get a "Yeah" from the window, where we saw Sun hanging upside down from his tail.

"Sun?" I said, both surprised and alarmed. "How did you get up here?"

"Same way Ankh does. I go up trees." The monkey faunus replied. "Except I climb while he simply jumps onto the tree." He flips into the dorm room before looking at us while Ankh huffed, knowing that another person is helping much to his annoyance. "So, are we finally getting back at that Torchwick guy?"

Blake steps forward, " _We_ are going to investigate the situation… as a _team_."

"Sorry, Sun. We don't want to get any of our friends involved if we don't have to," Ruby apologized.

"Psh! That's dumb, you should totally get friends involved, that's why I brought Neptune with me." Sun pointed out the window, causing us along with Ankh to look out the window to see the aforementioned teammate who was pressing himself tightly against the wall.

"Sup?" Neptune asked, turning on his charm to the girls.

"How did you even get up here?" I asked, finding it somewhat funny to see him like that.

Neptune smiled, "I have my ways." He then asked, looking down, scared. "Seriously, though, can I come in? We're like really high up right now."

Ankh, who was in his arm form, flew to the edge of the wall and grabbed Neptune and threw him into the dorm. He flew back into the room, looking at Neptune. " **Tch, you have a death wish being there."**

The blue-haired boy looked at me then at the unconscious body that Ankh was possessing then back at me. "You weren't kidding about him being only an arm." Ankh turned his sights at me before going back to his host, standing back up as he adjusts his coat.

With Neptune and Sun now helping, Ruby didn't need to take much time to make changes to the plan, "Alright, I'll go with Weiss. Sun you can go with Blake. Enrique, Ankh, and Neptune can go with Yang since she doesn't have a partner. Everyone good?"

As Neptune passed Weiss, or rather being pushed towards the blond by her younger sister, he gave the heiress a wink. Trying to get her chance of being with Neptune, Weiss suggested, "Actually Ruby why don't you go with Yang? After all she is your sister."

"But Weiss, who'll go with you?" Ruby asked, confused.

"Well…" Weiss' face began to fluster as she said as if it was off topic, "I guess Neptune can come with me."

Neptune wasn't against the idea since I had a clue to why Weiss wants to partner up with Neptune. But Ruby, being Ruby, let out a laugh and said, "Nah."

Before she could protest, Weiss was dragged away by her young team leader. I turned my head to Yang and Neptune and said, looking to the two, "Guess I'm with you two then."

I looked at Blake and Sun. "You guys be careful." I lifted up my fist to the monkey Faunus who obliged as he returned it, sharing a fist bump.

Once we left the school, we made our way to get our vehicles with Yang getting her motorcycle, Bumblebee.

Ankh tossed me a Cell Medal while he got one out as the both of us approached the two RideVendors.

"What are you gonna do with those?" Neptune asked, curious.

To give him my answer, Ankh and I placed in the Cell Medals into the RideVendors before activating them, causing them to convert into its bike forms.

"Nice ride," Neptune whistled.

I chuckled before I got on mine and Ankh got on his own with Neptune riding with Yang on her motorcycle. "Let's ride," Yang said after putting on her helmet.

We nodded before we began our drive, following Yang to the location of her informant.

* * *

Ankh, Yang, Neptune, and I eventually made it to the location that Yang mentioned. It was the ruined parts of Vale. Yang takes off the helmet as she gestures with her thumb to the music playing nearby. "Come on, my friend's right in here!"

Yang gets off the bike to reveal Neptune sitting right behind her, hair and goggles messed up with a petrified expression of terror on his face. Ankh and I got off our respective RideVendors and removed our helmets before placing them back in the compartments.

"Cool…" Neptune responded, dizzy. He shakes his head, somehow perfectly fixing his appearance, and gets off the cycle, looking around worriedly. "And where exactly is... here?"

I took a good look around as well upon Neptune's question. This was definitely the kind of a shady place to be at in my opinion with the exception of the club that Yang pointed at which was well-maintained. On top of the club was a sign that says 'The Club'.

I seen a few nightclubs back in my home world but never stepped foot in one. To my guess, Yang visits that place often.

"Let's just get this over with," Ankh muttered, impatient.

We made our way to the club before I noticed some men in suits noticing us with a panicked expression on their faces and ran into the club, slamming the doors closed. Why would they panic from seeing us? Unless...

I turned my head to Yang who had a mischievous grin. Oh, they panicked from seeing Yang. The blonde brawler walked ahead as her Ember Celica unfolded before she punched the doors wide open and Ankh stayed behind, waiting by the entrance. When we entered Yang announced her appearance, "Guess who's back!" She announced.

Next thing we knew, 8 guns were pointed at Yang with her smile still etched on her lips. Gotta admit, she is a tough one to not be fazed by the number of guns that are pointed at her. Though this doesn't faze her, she stops and glares at the recording studio where the track is messing up until the frightened bear-headed DJ takes the needle off the record and retreats back under the table. The way that DJ wears that kinda reminds me of the artist, Deadmau5.

Ankh glanced from the entrance then his sights back at the street. "You certainly did something to piss them off," he guessed before eating his ice cream. The Bird Greeed decided to stay by the entrance since he rather have his lonesome than follow us to talk to Yang's apparent informant and not listen to the dance music that was playing.

Neptune and I appear behind Yang as the henchmen continue hoisting their guns. "Yeah, so could you define "friend" for me?" Neptune asked.

"More importantly what did you do to piss them off?" I added.

"It's a long story," Yang simply replied, causing me to raise an eyebrow.

"Stop, stop! Nobody shoot," a man cuts his way through the crowd of goons, straightening his tie. The man was faired skin and had dark black hair. He wore a white dress shirt with a black vest over the top a red tie, black gloves and black dress pants. His grey eyes could be barely seen over the rim of a red pair of sunglasses.

Judging from him and the goons, I'm guessing that Yang pissed off a crime syndicate. Who knew that she managed to piss off a crime syndicate and is still alive?

"Blondie, you're here! ...Why?"

"You still owe me a drink, Junior," She grabs the said man by the arm and drags him to the bar through the hired guns.

Wait, did I just hear his name is Junior? What kind of name is that for a guy like him? Isn't he a bit old to be called Junior?

"Whoa-ho-ho-ho, what a woman…" Neptune commented before he breaks from his lovestruck stupor when he notices what seems to be twins standing beside him.

The first girl had long black hair and pale green eyes, highlighted by heavy cyan makeup. She wore a white, strapless dress with cyan lining.

Her accessories included a large white flower hairpin above her left ear, a white feather scarf, a silver pad with cyan and red feather on her left shoulder, white gloves, a small silver bracer over the glove on her left arm, a bow in the center of the top-most part of her bodice, a silver chained belt, cyan wings on the lower back and long white boots with blades at the heel. She stood with her arms folded while staring at Neptune with a bored expression on her face.

The second girl, her accessories were almost the exact opposite of the girl but their body type were similar. She has short black hair and pale green eyes, highlighted by heavy red makeup. She wore a red, strapless dress with black lining.

Her accessories included large red and white feathers above her left ear, black fur hanging off her shoulders and held at the front by a dark-gray chain, red gloves, a black bow tied around her waist, and long red boots with very high stiletto heels.

"'Sup?" He flirted with the two.

"Hmph! Whatever." The twins said before they walk away, noses in the air with Neptune lowering his head in his first loss of his 'successful flirting' streak.

"Don't sweat it, Neptune," I chuckled, keeping my voice low, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "I don't think even Zack would have scored with those two."

As Neptune and I follow Yang and Junior, the twins must have heard my voice since they turned to me, but rolled their eyes away, instantly losing interest.

"Like what you see, Enrique?" Yang teased as she saw me sitting between the two while Junior was preparing Yang's drink.

My head darted back at Yang. "Just, hurry up and talk to Junior!" I pleaded dryly. Places like this always make me uncomfortable.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, Blake and Sun were in the other part of town with the cat Faunus leading the way. As their progress came to a stop, Blake's fingers trace three scratch marks on a wall before peeking around its corner and seeing a pair of horned Faunus as they are ushered into a building by a bearded man. Realizing they made it to the location, she turns to Sun who is next to her._

" _This is it." said the ebony kunoichi_

" _You sure?" Sun asked, wondering if she was right. Blake glares at him and starts moving towards the entrance while unfastening her bow. "Y'know, I'm just gonna take your word for it."_

 _The two walk inside the building to a hallway filled with cases, seeing another man announcing "New recruits, keep to the right!"_

" _I don't get it." The monkey Faunus wondered, holding out the half-mask in his hand. "If you believe what you're doing is right, why hide who you are?"_

 _Blake was quiet for a moment before speaking up "The masks are a symbol. Humanity wanted to make monsters out of us, so we chose to don the faces of monsters."_

" _Grimm masks... That's kind of dark."_

" _So was the guy who started it," she responded by internally grimaced upon the memory before she puts her mask on and walks on. She couldn't forget the changes that happened in the White Fang when he took over._

" _Always sunshine and rainbows with you... " he sighed before he follows her lead._

 _The new recruits of the White Fang were moving in a line to the side of the stage, a mere few dozen compared to the hundreds of white-vested, black-hooded soldiers to their left and up above in the balconies. Blake and Sun look around themselves when they stop, and a fully-masked man with tattoos standing starts speaking before the large sheet emblazoned with the bloody wolf and claw marks._

" _Thank you all for coming. For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce two very special comrades of ours! I can assure you, they are the key to obtaining what we have fought for for so long" he explained._

 _The sound of footsteps approach the crowd before it revealed Roman and his cane that taps on the stage. However with him was a familiar man that Blake remembers._

" _Kazari…." Blake silently mutters in shock. She remembered Kazari telling her and her teammates after the battle against the Mega Greeed that he was now in lead of the White Fang alongside the man she knew. She never thought he was actually telling the truth._

" _Thank you, thank you!" Roman mockingly waves at the crowd as he speaks, a girl walks out from behind the sheet. Her hair was a trio of colors as well was her outfit. Half of her hair was pink, the other half was brown while a white streak ran through her pink hair. One of her eyes were brown while the other was pink as well. She wore a white jacket with a pink interior, brown pants and gray boots with very high heels. Under her jacket she wore a black corset, curved in the middle of the bottom, exposing her sides. She also wore a multitude of necklaces "Please, hold your applause!"_

 _A Faunus with antlers on her head points at Roman and Kazari from her place right in front of Blake and Sun, "What are humans doing here?!" She exclaimed in question, seeing the two humans._

" _Humans?" Kazari parroted, tilting his head a bit with a grin. "It's actually just him and the little one."_

 _Some became confused to what he meant by that before they saw Kazari being enveloped in Cell Medals, revealing his Greeed form. Seeing his actual form created shock and gasps from the recruits._

" _ **You may know that I'm completely different than you and the humans. Even more, I am the second-in-command of the White Fang"**_ _Kazari explains, walking lazily on the stage while the recruits became quiet upon hearing that he is one of the leaders. "_ _ **My kind are considered what the Faunus were suppose to be. More stronger, withstanding all forms of attacks, even being unstoppable."**_

 _Blake narrowed her eyes at the Feline Greeed. She knows that they are different than the Faunus due to their powers and capabilities. However both the Faunus and the Greeed share animal traits._

" _ **I'll be the first to admit, humans... are truly the worst but for me, beneficial."**_ _Kazari said_ _ **. "Humans desire to live, survive their days against the Grimm that roam outside of the safe places. While you Faunus are left out, being discriminated, called freaks, animals and such."**_

 _Sun leans over to Blake. "So, is he going somewhere with this?"_

" _But, before the claws come out," Roman interjected. "I'd like to mention the fact that my pal, myself, and the rest of you all have a common enemy: the ones in control, the people pulling the strings, the dirty, rotten humans that run our kingdoms!"_

 _The crowd changes their tune and starts agreeing with him. "Government, military, even the schools: they're all to blame for your lot in life!" Lets the crowd cheer as the two heroes share a look. "And they're all pests that need to be dealt with! Fortunately, I'm the best exterminator around... No offense to any rodents in the room."_

" _ **Right… exterminator."**_ _The Feline Greeed drawled, mocking Torchwick with the latter giving him a small glare. "_ _ **Furthermore, humans are what made you all be looked down upon even in the past as slaves. Don't you all**_ **desire** _ **to be the ones in control? Desire to be the ones who will make the humans fear you, showing them what you can really do?"**_

 _Hearing the Greeed's words, they all roared in agreement._ _With a snap of his fingers, the curtain falls, and the whole mass of Faunus applaud at the sight of the Atlesian Paladin-290 behind it, the mark of the White Fang painted on its shoulder._

 _Sun uttered, "Whoa, that's a big robot…"_

" _How did they get that?" Blake wondered as well._

 _Roman was the next to speak up. "As some of you might have heard, this right here…" He taps the giant mech with his cane. "...is Atlas' newest defense against all the scary things in the world. And thanks to my 'employer', we've managed to snag a few before they, uh, 'hit the shelves'."_

" _ **Now, many of your comrades have already moved down to our new operation in the southeast."**_ _Kazari informed._ _ **"If you'd rather stay within the city, that fine... But if you're truly ready to fight for what you believe in, this is the arsenal that Orange here can provide you. Show the humans what you can do. Don't just show them, show the whole world what you Faunus are capable of."**_ _He glance a look at the recruits. "_ _ **Any questions?"**_

 _The White Fang's roaring applause tells the two their answer. Kazari hummed in amusement to see the new recruits agree. They were the cubs while he was the alpha lion, leading the pride. Oh how much desires they are brimmed with, giving him the satisfaction to gather more Cell Medals to steal, collect, and create from their desires. Even manipulate them to do the work._

" _We should get out of here." Blake whispered to the monkey Faunus_

" _Will all new recruits, please come forward!" The White Fang soldier announced._

 _As the line surges forward, the two had to follow. "Welp!"_

* * *

We managed to get Junior talking about what Roman has been doing. Oh, who am I kidding? The guy would go on a vacation and he'd still be doing something crooked to pass 6 times.

With Junior, he puts down his glass as he sits behind the bar separating him from his attractive interrogator. The sooner we leave, there better.

* * *

 _The White Fang were still cheering loudly as the recruits are marched to the stage, with Blake and Sun having no choice but to follow along._

" _What are we going to do?!" Sun whispered to Blake._

" _I'm thinking…" She replied, trying to think of a plan._

 _Sun watched Roman lean on the robot smoking his cigar and laughing with the girl beside him while Kazari watches each one of the recruits before he zeroes in on the two, a hum of amusement and recognition sounded out from his face. "The cat man sees us…" Sun informed as he tries to smile and wave._

 _Hearing this caused Blake to mentally panic before noticing the junction box on the wall. She doesn't know if Kazari can see in the dark but with Roman and that girl it won't be a problem. "Roman can't see in the dark." With that, Blake unsheathes Gambol Shroud, transforms it into a pistol, and shoots at the box, making the lights go out for the whole building and turning the area dark._

" _Don't let them get away!" Roman called out in anger as Kazari watches._

" _Sun! The window!" Blake points at the open window._

" _Stop them!"_

 _Before the two student Huntsmen crash through the window and start running as fast as they can, the mechanized sound of running power signals the Atlesian Paladin's activation, and it crashes through the wall of the building in pursuit of the runaways, who leap off of a car and manage to get on the roofs. The Paladin follows beside them on the street as Blake and Sun run, jump, and flip from rooftop to rooftop._

" _So you wouldn't happen to have... oh, I don't know... some form of backup?" Sun asked._

" _On it!" She grabs her Scroll and puts it to her ear as she continues to jump._

 _Back with Kazari, he chuckled to what happened. "_ _ **Clever way, kitten."**_ _He commented before looking at the girl. "_ _ **Get the Bullhead ready."**_

* * *

After Yang finished her interrogation with Junior, we left the club. Ankh was brooding again, glaring heatedly at Yang. "Took you long enough!"

The blonde brawler rolls her eyes. "You think you're the only one? I had to make due with Junior wanting to cop a feel from me just for even a morsel of info. I am _not in the mood_!"

Suddenly, her Scroll rang and she answered, "Blake, what is it?'"

Blake started, " _We need-_ "

" _HEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLPPPPPP!_ " Sun screamed. " _Robot! Big Robot! Big Killer Robot Chasing Us!_ "

I blinked from what he meant by that. "What did he mean by that?"

My question was answered when we saw Sun and Blake being chased by what looks to be mech that ran past us, chasing the two Faunus.

"Does that answer your question?" Ankh asked, pointing at the mech that was about to vanish from our sights.

''Ankh! Hand me some Medals!"'

He presented Kuwagata, Kame, and Cheetah. I was confused to why he handed me those three until I realized that Kuwagata provides electrical attacks, Kame with shielding, and Cheetah able to help me avoid quickly.

Without asking questions, I grabbed them before placing them in the slots, tilted the buckle and scanned them. "Henshin!"

 **KUWAGATA!**

 **KAME!**

 **CHEETAH!**

Now in my OOO armor I looked at Neptune and Yang. "You guys get on the bikes, I'll follow after the three.

"Wait, then how are you-" Before Neptune could finish, I used the Cheetah Legs to chase after the mech.

"Does that answer your question?" Yang asked him.

"He's fast," Neptune observed.

"Let's move," Ankh said as he revved up the RideVendor and drove.

With me, I ran after the mech and saw him push through cars, prompting me to dodge them left and right.

Hearing the sound of a stag beetle, I charged up the Kuwagata helm and delivered an electrical attack into the mech's back, it's attention now focused on me.

"You again!?" Roman called out from the mech.

"That's right!" I shouted as I charge up another attack as I ran after him.

"Damn!"

The top of the mech turned 180 degrees and I found its weapons aimed at me. I skidded to a halt and brought up the Kame Shields as it fired missiles at me. Upon impact, the shields emitted orange energy but at the same time, pushed me back a bit from the amount of force.

Before it can fire again, it was shot several times, making it stumble back. Wondering who did it, I saw Team RWBY, Sun, and Neptune behind me as Ankh was perched on top of the pillar, spectating the fight against the mech.

"You alright?" Ruby asked.

"I'm ok, let's focus on the mech and stop it."

Ruby nodded as we faced the machine. "Enrique, remember the code words that Weiss, Yang, Blake, and I practice for our fighting?"

"Yeah, why?"

"We want you to help in on the team attacks."

I looked at her for a moment before a grin appeared under my helmet. "Alright." I nodded before looking at Ankh who knew where this was going. He presented the Gorilla Medal and threw it to me. Catching the Medal, I removed the Kame Medal and placed it in the medal holder on my side before inserting Gorilla in the center slot and scan them.

 **KUWAGATA!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **CHEETAH!**

I was now equipped with Gorilla arms and punched my fists together, ready to beat the mech into scrap metal. I looked at Sun and Neptune. "You guys stay back and give Ankh cover in case Roman tries to shoot him.

The two nodded as they stood back as Team RWBY and I were ready to fight the mech that Roman was using. The mechanical giant began to stride ominously towards us, Ruby yelled out two words:

"Freezer Burn!"

Ruby, Blake and I jumped back from the fight, leaving Weiss and Yang. In range of the giant. Weiss performed her trademark spin and stab, freezing the ground over with a thick layer of ice. But Roman was ready this time, as the mech stopped its progression. Unfortunately for him, however, lubricating the ground wasn't what the ice was meant for. Looking up, I saw Yang flipping in the air, bringing down a burning fist straight for the center of the ice. Slamming the hot cudgel into the cold ground was enough: the ice shattered, and melted in an instant, generating a cold mist that masked the battlefield.

"Hammer Fist!"

Yang and I nodded as we charged forward through the mist before as Yang jumped while I charge towards the mech. Once we were in range Yang delivered the first punch onto the left arm, causing it to stumble back to the left. Once she landed, I jumped onto her back and launched myself towards the Paladin before bringing both fists to its head and fire the Gori Bagon, pushing the mech back before it fell with an almighty crash and the gauntlets back on my arms. With the mech now focused on getting back up, we now had a bit of time to prepare any further attacks.

"Ladybug!"

My work was done for now. Leaping back, I watched as Ruby leapt skywards for an overhead attack with Crescent Rose. The blade of the massive scythe lodged itself deep in the back of the mech, and Ruby swung up on the handle of her weapon, balancing on the pole, and rotating it so it pointed up, firing rounds into the back of the mech. Blake, meanwhile, had taken to slashing at the mech's sensors and external weapons, severing a few with precise swings of her blades.

But the Paladin merely didn't notice the attacks, as more weapons emerged from within the beast. One wayward arm punched Blake away, forcing her to swing around a support. As the giant stood, Ruby began to lose her balance, and was left hanging onto her weapon's grip by one hand. The mech began to rush backwards, Roman intent on crushing Ruby against a pillar. But a glyph appeared on the pillar, right as Ruby was about to be pasted against it. The mech struggled, but it was enough of a delay, as Yang tackled Ruby away, taking Crescent Rose with her at the same time. As the two sisters skidded across the ground, Ruby yelled her next order.

"White Lightning!"

Now was my time once again. Weiss and I took point as the Kuwagata Horns began to conduct electricity as Weiss summoned a couple of Glyphs, using Ice Dust in her weapon. Once the horns were charged up, I shot the electricity at the mech that Roman was in. On cue, Weiss summoned a third glyph between Roman and the both of us, the electricity passing through the three glyphs as the lightning became an ice white color, impacting parts of the machine, creating ice that began spread to some of its parts.

It stumbled back a bit as I decided to end the machine. I got out the O-Scanner and scanned the Medals.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

Three Rings appeared in front of me, each color being green, grey, and yellow. I used the Cheetah Legs to go through the rings as the Kuwagata Helm began to charge up with the Gori Bagon at the ready. Once I passed through the last ring, I cocked back my arms before punching the mech, the Kuwagata Horns hitting it with electricity at the same time, creating an electrifying, brutal punch.

This sent the mech flying, rolling across the ground as parts of it fell off thanks to the previous attack that Weiss and I delivered before crashing down in a hundred pieces splintering into a pile of frozen steel, shredded wires, and one dazed criminal brushing himself down, muttering to himself amid the wreckage.

"Ladies, gentlemen, Ice Queen…"

"Hey!" Weiss was offended at the insult, but Roman continued, unfazed.

"...as much I would yell I bid you all farewell." He finished.

"You aren't getting away this time, Roman." Ruby said.

" **I'm afraid he is leaving now,"** a familiar voice said, making Team RWBY and I tense up and saw an airship above the criminal. In the Bullhead was a girl with her hair being a trio of colors as well was her outfit. Half of her hair was pink, the other half was brown while a white streak ran through her pink hair. One of her eyes were brown while the other was pink as well. She wore a white jacket with a pink interior, brown pants and gray boots with very high heels. Under her jacket she wore a black corset, curved in the middle of the bottom, exposing her sides. She also wore a multitude of necklaces.

However with her was a certain Greeed that we all (except Sun and Neptune) recognize. "Kazari…" Ankh muttered from the pillar.

Roman grinned as Kazari jumped off the Bullhead and landed on top of a car, destroying the roof of it upon landing. Kazari chuckled as he punched Roman, only for him to shatter like glass. We looked back up and saw the criminal laughing. "Good luck," he mocked as the airship flew away.

"Is that guy a Faunus?" Sun asked, referring to Kazari.

"No he isn't," I replied, as we got into our fighting positions. "Sun, Neptune, the one we are facing is Kazari, one of the four Greeed I told you about."

The two became surprised and shocked to the revelation. Despite the Feline Greeed being outnumbered, he can still fend off against us. The two got into their battle stances as well, wary of Kazari's appearance. It makes sense for the two since this is the first time going against a Greeed upon learning what they are capable of.

Kazari took a few steps forward, making us on guard, waiting for the Feline Greeed to attack. " **Let's see how this works for you all."** He thrusted his arm out, and to our shock, he shot out highly pressurized water at us, sending us back.

"What the heck was that!?" Weiss exclaimed, trying to find out what we just witnessed.

"He did a water blast at us but the only Greeed able to do that was Mezool," I said, getting back on our feet.

"But wait if he was able to then that means…"

"Kazari absorbed her Cores and is using a small portion of her power." Ankh said from the pillar.

" **Right you are, Ankh."** Kazari drawled. " **You were always studious and quick for the bird you are. I knew you were quick to find the answer."**

Ankh scoffed upon the comment but wanted the opportunity to punch the Feline Greeed's face to a bloody pulp.

" **And it's not just Mezool's Cores that I have in my possession,** " said Kazari before he raised his foot and stomped the ground. He caused a shockwave that shook the ground, nearly knocking us off our feet.

This caught us off guard upon realizing what he also has. He is also using the Zou Cores he took, allowing him to use its power. "You absorbed Gamel's Cores!" Ruby shouted at him.

" **That's right, little red."** Kazari responded with a predatory look. " **I came to learn that absorbing a Core that isn't mine can be useful. Mezool's water attacks and Gamel's with his stomps, I thought it would be of good use against you 8."**

This made us tense as we held our weapons tightly in our grips. This was bad, Kazari has a portion of both Mezool's and Gamel's powers; water torrent and the quake stomps.

The Feline Greeed charge at us, prompting us to go on the defensive as Kazari attacked me first since I was equipped with the Cheetah Legs.

Using Gori Bagons, I thrusted my arms out, the gauntlets shooting out like rockets as they were shot towards Kazari. The first one hit him in the gut but he blocked the next one with his claw

I charged up the Kuwagata Helm and delivered an electric shock to the Greeed, causing him to jump back to avoid the discharge. I sped towards Kazari as I delivered a few punches to his chest, the latter dodging some of the punches. From what we can tell, KAzari isn't holding back seeing as how all eight of us are here and he wants his Cores back.

Sun and Neptune took point as the duo of Team SSSN began to help me out on fighting the Feline Greeed. Sun began to use his gun-chucks as he was attempting to deliver bows at the Feline Greeed.

Neptune aimed his weapon at Kazari as it converted to what looks to be a railgun. The Felin Greeed took notice of the charging weapon so he grabbed Sun's weapon and used his strength to throw the monkey Faunus at his partner, the two falling onto the ground.

Seeing this as his chance, Kazari thrusted his arm at Neptune and Sun, creating a yellow cyclone that blew them off the highway. "Not again!" Neptune shouted as they were in the air. My guess is that his hair got messed up upon the cyclone attack, leaving me with a sweatdrop.

Refocusing on the situation, I saw Kazari charging towards me, prompting me to raise the Gori Bagons to block some of his strikes before countering some, delivering a few punches to his chest. When I delivered the next punch, Kazari kicked me to a car, creating a dent while I buckled from the pain. "Damn it…" I cursed under my breath as I got back up.

"Enrique!" Ankh called out.

I darted my head to his direction as he presented two Medals. "Use these!" He said before throwing them to me.

I quickly caught the two Cores and saw it was Wani and Taka.

I switched the Kuwagata with Taka and Cheetah with Wani before scanning the Medals quickly.

 **TAKA!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **WANI!**

Now the helmet changed to the Taka Helm and the Cheetah Legs changed into the Wani Legs. Since Kazari was kept busy by Ruby and Blake, I charged forward and delivered a kick, creating the alligator head which bit the Feline Greeed while spilling Cell Medals from the attack that I delivered.

Kazari focused his attention on me and began to strike me with his claws, sparks casting off my armor. Weiss charged in, to get me out of the possible loss of Core Medal by thrusting Myrtenaster at the Feline Greeed but the latter blocked the attack with his right claw and thrusted his arm out, shooting pressurized water at the both of us, sending us away from him.

Ruby decide to take point and used her Semblance to try to outrun the Feline Greeed. As she sped towards the Greeed, Kazari stomped the ground, causing the scythe-wielder to lose her balance as Kazari got his claw ready. Right before he was gonna thrust his claws at her, Ruby stabbed her Crescent Rose to the ground and spun around before I noticed Yang grabbing hold of her leg as the duo spun around. Before Kazari can expect it, the blonde was sent towards the feline and delivered a right hook to his face, causing him to stumble back a bit. "Don't even think about hurting my sister," Yang warned before she began an onslaught of punches at the scheming feline.

We watched as Kazari was starting to get impatient with us, beginning he to dodge her punches, even blocking them with his forearms. Kazari then began to punch Yang multiple times before slamming her into a car. He marched towards her and threw her to the pillar, creating a webbed crack on the structure.

"Yang!" Blake and I cried out. We ran over to her, before I felt Ruby's hand on my shoulder while preventing Blake from going after the blonde.

"Don't worry. Every hit she takes, she absorbs the energy and uses it to fight back! That's what makes her special." She explained. Turning back to look at her, I noticed she was indeed right: Yang's fire was glowing white hot, like a burning magnesium strip. As Kazari swung his claw again, Yang simply stood, moving quicker than we can expect. Right as the claw was about to connect, she swung a fist of her own, sending Kazari flying.

After landing a good distance from her, he pulls himself up to shake away the ringing, only to see Yang charging towards him, the drawback to her abilities, however, was starting to show, with him easily dodging her due to her equilibrium being thrown off. Having enough of the blonde bombshell, he used his cyclone attack to give him space but Yang quickly used her Semblance, absorbing more damage as her hair was now burning more brightly than ever.

He quickly kicked her back to prevent more damage from her as she flew past us, I heard Ruby yell.

"Bumblebee!"

Blake whirled around, and pitched her weapon at Yang, who caught it with one free hand. Using the ribbon, and Yang's momentum, Blake spun the ribbon around over her head. To give her time, I blocked Kazari's claws with the Gori Bagon. I kept blocking some of his strikes before he lowered one of my arms but I took notice of Yang heading towards us. Just as Kazari was gonna strike me, I said, "Bottoms up, Kazari!"

I ducked as Kazari looked in front of him, being greeted with Yang's fist and the blast of her Ember Celica for this literally sent the Feline Greeed flying again into the air but also we saw one gray glimmer falling out of Kazari.

Seeing this as a chance, Ankh shot his arm out and caught the Medal before going back to his host. In his hand was the Zou Core. Kazari on the other hand eventually came down landing on top of a car, destroying it.

"Hmph, you got what you deserve Kazari," Ankh mused before placing the grey Core in the Medal Book then back in his jacket.

The said Greeed got off the car and stumbled a bit before regaining his composure and posture. He looked at the blonde, their respective red eyes locked onto each other. Even though we can't see it, we can tell that Kazari is upset at Yang for both pummeling him and taking one of Gamel's Cores.

" **Lucky you were, hothead."** He drawled as he took a few steps back, his back now against the ledge of the highway. " **I can see why Mezool lost her Cores to you before. I can even smell the desire you are brimmed with as well. A very** _ **interesting**_ **desire at that."**

I looked at Yang whose hands were tightly clenched, her knuckles turning a white color. Whatever desire Kazari is talking about is making her more mad than she already is.

" **Just know that I haven't lost yet. I will get back my Cores eventually, OOO,"** he vowed before leaning over the edge and fell back.

We quickly ran to the ledge, only to see a Bullhead rising with the Feline Greeed jumping into the side of the ship as the girl from before smiling sadistically at us. " **We will fight again OOO, Hothead."** He vowed before tapping his claw against the metal of the ship, ordering it to go. " **Goodbye."**

"He's getting away!" Blake yelled, raising her pistol at the Bullhead, which showed the two smiling as they fled. I just walked beside her, and lowered her weapon.

"No point. He's long gone." I stated. Ankh, Ruby, Weiss, and Yang walked up to us, watching the jet disappear into the night. Yang had cooled back down to normal temperature, but I could still feel that she was angry.

"Feel better about giving Kazari the beating of a lifetime?" I asked, trying to calm her.

She looked at me for a moment and took a deep breath. "Well, yeah. It felt nice teaching him what it means to mess with us." Hearing this made me let out a small smile. Despite giving him the beating, I'm sure Yang still wants Kazari gone for good.

"But now it looks like that orange-haired one has a new henchman with Kazari leading." Ankh pointed out, ogling the Zou Core with a smirk.

"Yeah. Looks like he really made our plans… _fall_ apart!" Weiss joked, grinning at her own humour. Ruby giggled at the bad pun and Ankh facepalmed with an irritated snort while Blake just strode away, her face hiding the slightest of smiles. I, meanwhile, snickered, until Ankh smack against the back of my helmet.

"No. Just… no."

"Wha—? But, you do it!" Weiss protested. Yang just gave her a hard look.

"There's a time and a place for jokes." She responded harshly. Weiss just scoffed.

"Was this not it?!" She asked vehemently. Yang just sighed in exasperation.

"No, your timing was perfect. But your joke wasn't very good." She explained, a hint of jealousy in her voice as she turned away, and began to walk after Blake. Weiss sheathed her weapon, and followed after her, still arguing. All that remained was Ruby, Ankh, and I.

"Wait… where are Sun and Neptune?" She asked, looking around. I titled the buckle back to its original position, dispelling the armor and just shrugged.

"Knowing those two, they're probably fine." I offered. Honestly, those two knew how to get through things in situations like this.

"They were idiots but they certainly have survived that attack," Ankh added since he has that Aura Sense of his.

"You may be right, without the idiot part you said." She agreed nonchalantly, striding after her teammates. I followed suit, now feeling very tired, stifling a yawn. That fight with Torchwick and Kazari had taken a lot out of me, and I wanted nothing more that a hot shower and a comfy pillow to sleep on. But either way, tomorrow was another day of education, and I needed all the energy I could muster for tomorrow.

Still, I wonder what the two are doing now?

* * *

 _Sun and Neptune were sitting in the middle stools of the 'A Simple Wok Noodle House' eating noodles with the shopkeep behind the counter and their weapons leaning against the other two stools. With them however was Akira who was eating Oden. He came across the two huntsmen-in-training when he was on his way to the restaurant they are now in._

 _They explained to him about what happened, leaving Akira both amused to how they were fighting a mech with little trouble but also a little upset that they went out on a dangerous task to investigate._

" _They're probably fine, right?" Neptune asked as he stopped eating his noodles._

" _Probably_ ," _Sun shrugged._

" _Knowing Ruby and Yang, they'll be fine," Akira assured since he knew the girls longer than the two._

 _Seeing that his question was answered, Neptune went back to eating his noodles as the three enjoy their meals._

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x2)**

 **Kujaku (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Kobura (x1)**

 **Kame (x1)**

 **Wani (x1)**

 **Unagi (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

 **Zou (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

" _Your scientists have finished the Project."_

" **You will pay for hurting me you Faunus wench!"** Uva roared.

"Alright, let's start earning," he announced before he charged towards Uva.

 **Next Time:** Revenge, Birth, Shachi Medal

* * *

 **A/N:** Well that is it for this chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter as well as the sneak peak to the next chapter. Don't forget to check out my newest story, **Chalice: The Wild Card Chronicles (Kamen Rider Blade X High School DxD).**

Also, if you are wondering why I haven't updated **The Divine Providence of the Three Kingdoms (Kamen Rider Gaim x Koihime Musou),** I am on a writer's block with it. It ain't easy since I have to go over the Visual Novel multiple times to get familiar with it and the characters as well as making OC Gedoshu based on the demons and/or spirits of Chinese mythology along with the scenes for the story.

Anyways, I will see you all next time! Stay in the shadows everyone!


	20. Chapter 19: Revenge, Birth, Shachi Medal

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the nineteenth chapter of OOO!

I hoped you enjoyed the previous chapter and now this is the chapter where a certain Rider you all may know to be introduced. I do apologize for the long update, it wasn't easy making this a good chapter since a certain Rider will finally make his debut in this chapter. And chapter 12 of **Kamen Rider Dark Drive: Hyperdimension Road (Kamen Rider Dark Drive x Hyperdimension Neptunia V)** will be uploaded soon.

Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc.) with some changes and/or additions to it.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _Kougami was staring out the window, baking another cake. This cake however was for a special occasion; a celebration of something new._

 _He had heard about what Team RWBY, Enrique, and their two new friends fighting Kazari. It was wonderful to see them work together to fend off against the Feline Greeed._

 _As he finished mixing the batter, he heard the doors behind him open, prompting him to turn around and see Felix without his helmet once again._

 _Ever since he heard that Felix confronted OOO, he saw him look at the young man in a new light. The birth of trust and a possible partnership. However in Felix's hand was a silver and black case. Seeing it made Kougami smile with pride._

" _Ah, Felix. You arrived just in time!" He said joyfully._

" _Likewise, sir," Felix nodded before placing the case onto the table. "Your scientists have finished the Project."_

 _Kougami's smile grew upon hearing that. "Will this help Akira? I heard about the project and it won't work like the Core Medals." Felix asked._

" _Fe, it doesn't matter for me! This is the birth of a new warrior to fight alongside OOO!" Kougami said, placing the batter in the oven. "Core Medals and Cell Medals. The power of two different types of Medals to fight against the Greeed."_

 _The cake-loving man walked to the table as Felix opened the case, revealing what was inside. Along with a certain object was three grey cans that said 'Gorilla'. Felix closed the case as the cake loving man looks out the window_

" _Ms. Haven, contact Akira. Let him know to come here," Kougami informed. "I am sure he will enjoy the new weapon to finally fight the Greeed."_

 _The assistant nodded before leaving his office to contact the Huntsman. Once he left, Kougami couldn't help but cheer to the item that his scientists finally finished. It may not be like OOO and the O-Driver but this will be considered somewhat close to it, using the energy from the Cell Medals to fight against the Greeed._

" _Happy Birthday, Birth!" He shouted joyfully, so loud it can be heard in the entire building of the Kougami Foundation._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Revenge, Birth, Shachi Medal**

Napping, it is what I was doing as the cool breeze brush past my hair. Adding the shade from the tree leaves, it adds more relaxation to me. After dealing with Kazari and the mech that Roman was using yesterday, it is what I needed today.

It felt soothing really. A nap under a tree with the weather being slightly sunny with a nice breeze? It equals total peace and relaxation for me. I let out a relaxed sigh since I haven't felt this relaxed in a long while.

As 10 minutes passed, I felt someone nudging my arm with their foot, prompting me to open my eyes to see who was doing that. My eyes met the smoldering eyes of Cinder Fall. "Oh, hey Cinder…" I greeted as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. "What brings you here?" I asked, curious.

"I was looking for you in fact," she smiled.

I blinked upon her answer. "Why were you looking for me? I thought you would be with your teammates?" I asked, confused.

Her smile grew before sitting down next to me. "They were off with their usual doings. I thought it would be nice to talk to the person that kindly gave me a tour of the Academy. After all most of the boys here that talk to me are… not like you."

"Not like me? What do you mean?"

"Oh? Why it's your personality," she answered. "A young man like you are not often seen. I think it's rather nice to meet someone such as yourself."

I flustered from her comment, "W-Well…" I stuttered. "I don't know if I should be flattered to be honest." I then looked at her. "Tell me, why are you here? What made you want to become a Huntress?"

"I am here because I wish to change the world..." Cinder told me.

"That sounds like a big dream," I chuckled. "But I can understand in a way. For me, all I cared about was reaching out to help those in need of help. It's all I care about…. I have been doing this for a long time ever since."

"Reaching out to others? What if when you reach towards them, they just drag you down and hold you back?"

"What do you mean by that?" I blinked. "Even when that happens, there's always a way to get back up. Being dragged down only makes me think I am giving up. To me, giving up makes me think I lost. I never give up on helping others by reaching my hand out to them so I can help them. "

She looked at me for a moment before a smile adorned her lips again, "It sounds like you have read a lot about philosophy."

"Somewhat," I shrugged before placing my hands behind my neck and gaze at the sky. "I learn what I can for the past 5 years."

Just as she was gonna say something, I took notice of Blake approaching us. Wait, I thought she was with Yang?

"Blake?" I sat up to look at her. "What are you doing here? I thought you were with Yang?"

She looked at Cinder for a moment then at me, "Enrique, we need to go and get our project finished for Professor Oobleck."

I blinked before standing up. "Blake, what do you me-" Before I can finish Blake grabbed my arm and dragged me away from Cinder. Seriously, why is Blake acting like this?

As we were now in the hallway, I decided to speak up. "Um… Blake why were you acting like that?" I asked. "I was only talking to Cinder."

She released her grip on me, "I just…." she shook her head for a moment before looking at me. "I just need your help with something." she stated.

"What do you need help with?" I asked, curious.

"Just follow me okay!?" She asked, her tone growing and what sounds like a cat's growl.

"Uh… ok?" I blinked before following her.

* * *

 _As soon as they left Cinder had a slight disappointed frown on her face. As if her moment was just stolen by that kunoichi. But… it did not matter. She found something interesting… And she was going to take it one way or the other._

 _She then took out her scroll as she brought up what looked like some kind of list. She scrolled down as she found Enrique's file before placing a checkmark on it. She smile deviously as she then begins to walk away._

 _The young man was an interesting one to her unlike that Greeed that is allied with her. From what she heard, he used unimaginable power from the very creatures to fight that those like Kazari create. The creatures were impervious to normal attacks but Enrique was able to injure them with his armor and sword._

 _She knew that all those capabilities make him a person to be part of her cause. She had to get closer to him to achieve it. All she'd have to do is be in contact with him more often, talk to him, make him see her way of thinking... and he'd be all hers. If that didn't work, she'd simply seduce him._

 _What's more interesting was his origins. After she learned about him, she had to find info about the young Multi-King. What was strange was that he has no record of a birth certificate, no known residence, no known family members. Nothing._

 _More importantly, his name sounded completely foreign but at the same time, rolling off the tongue. It makes her wonder where exactly he is from. 'I wonder who you really are?'_

* * *

I continued to follow Blake. "So… where are we going, Blake?" I asked, curious.

She didn't answer me as she kept pulling by my arm, as if she was trying to get me away from something? "Blake, what are you trying to do anyway…?" I asked again.

Still she didn't answer as her grip started to tighten around my wrist. I stopped as she tried to pull me away. "Blake what's with you?" I raised an eyebrow. "First you approached me and then dragged me away. You're also tightening your grip on my wrist."

Blake released her grip gently. "S-Sorry, Enrique… I.. I just don't trust that girl being around you at all…"

"Huh…?" I blinked. "I was only talking to her. That was all."

"Then what about that time where she pinned you to the ground?!"

"She challenged me to a spar remember?" I reminded with a raised eyebrow.

The Faunus kunoichi blushed in embarrassment. "O-Oh… right…" she muttered. "Sorry.. But.. she just gives me all the wrong feelings…" Blake stated.

I sighed. She has been acting like that often which confuses me but I chose to ignore it. "How about we head to town that way we can relax from whatever is bothering you?" I suggested.

Blake had a slight blush but it quickly vanished as she smiled at me gently. "Alright…"

We made our way to the courtyard until I saw Ruby who looks to be bored out of her mind. "Hey Ruby, something wrong?" I asked.

"Ugh…. Bored… Today has been boring!" She frowned. "Mr. Akira left before he could show me more about his weapon…"

"He left?"

"The Kougami Foundation called him earlier. They said they needed him for something." answered Ruby. "And here I thought I could see that Birth Buster…"

I pondered for a moment before an idea popped up. "How about you come with me and Blake? We are heading to Vale to look around." I offered.

"Really? Thanks!" She beamed brightly. Although I didn't see Blake sigh slightly from hearing that invitation for Ruby.

* * *

 _Ankh was travelling in the city, heading towards the usual ice cream parlor he goes to. The reason was to be away from the annoying teens of Beacon Academy. Team RWBY, Team JNPR, and his charge Enrique were an exception in a way but they were still annoying bunch of children. To think they were the ones he was relying on to get his Core Medals and regain his body._

 _He eventually made it to the ice cream parlor before he noticed something. He then spotted a familiar face who had stopped in front of the ice cream parlor. It was Sara and she was going inside to get herself a treat. Ankh's lips slightly quirked up as he went in after her. To him, it was both a little annoying that he will be talking but nostalgic._

" _Ah, is that you Ankh?" Sara asked._

" _How did you know it was me?"_

" _Just a guess. So, you came for ice cream as well?"_

" _Kinda need a treat after having to deal with a bunch of brats," he told her._

" _Must be hard being a teacher."_

" _You have no idea. I hate kids, and it doesn't get better as they get older. But it's my job to make sure they don't get killed."_

" _They should be lucky that they have a teacher that cares about them so much." He mentally growled, he doesn't 'care' about the students, he's only doing what he can to make his tools in perfect condition along with his charge._

 _As the two of them found a table, a girl with half pink and half brown hair was leaving the ice cream parlor with a cone of neapolitan ice cream. His eyes narrowed upon seeing her but pretended to not notice her. She was the girl from the highway, the one working for Roman Torchwick._

 _Not his problem right now._

 _All he wanted to do was enjoy his usual treat._

" _So Ankh, what's it like helping them?" Sara asked, trying to find the spoon until Ankh decided to push it close to her hand._

 _She took it as she started to eat her treat, but wanting to know more about him._

" _It's annoying to me…" he muttered, eating his treat._

" _I see… May I ask what are they like?"_

" _At Beacon, there are two Teams that… a student of mine hangs out with…" he was referring to his charge, Enrique. "Being kind and all but at the same time they are annoying when it comes to their activities…."_

 _She giggled slightly. "You can't blame them for enjoying their times like this… After all… they can do several thing now… But someday…. Something could happen where they're not able to do what they did before…." She said softly as she fiddled with her ice cream._

 _He took notice of her placing her hand on the scars that run down her blind eyes. "It happened to you…?"_

 _Sara lowered her hand and slowly nodded. "I was a 2nd year… but a mission resulted a Grimm attacking me a year ago… but my Aura couldn't heal my eyes…" she answered, looking down. "And… no medicine or surgery could fix them either…. I.. had to give up my dream to being a Huntress and… retire…"_

 _Ankh looked at her, his hand on his spoon to eat his treat. He looked back and saw the customers eating, not looking at them before he looked at Sara. He moved his arm close to her hand and made it turn into his Greeed arm. "A dream can never die." he muttered. "I want you to tell me what you feel on the table."_

 _She had a confused look on her face as she then reached over and touched his hand. She felt it around, making sure to get all of the details. "It's… some kind of… hand… With… feathers… a bird… rings as well.. And.. claws?"_

 _He focused on it, causing it to shift back to normal. "Now what do you feel now?" he asked again._

 _She touched it a bit more. "It's… just a hand?"_

" _Do you know what the difference is?" he questioned._

" _It feels different, right?"_

" _RIght however the difference is the way you described it." he explained._

" _I… don't understand…"_

" _It's a simple thing to explain. It is the way you see the world around you." Ankh pointed out, eating his ice cream._

 _She had a odd expression on her face, but she then gave a light smile as she ate her treat along with him as a soft blush appears on her face. "How do you know something like that, Ankh…?"_

 _Ankh stopped eating from hearing that. "It's… complicated…" he muttered._

" _Well… do you think you could help me with that Ankh?"_

" _Eh?"_

" _Can… you teach me how to look at the world.. In this different way you speak of?" she asked as she gave him a brightful smile._

 _Somehow he felt memories flashing back in his mind, memories when the little girl asked him that question all those years ago. 'Damn flesh puppet…'_ _he growled in thought. "I'll…. help you, starting tomorrow…"_

 _She smiled at him again, eating her treat more. "It's a date…"_

 _Ankh suddenly choked upon the word, causing him to cough when the frozen treat went down the wrong side of his throat._

 _Upon hearing the cough, she lets out a slight giggle as she continued to eat her treat.._

' _Why in the hell did I say something like that!?' Ankh shouted in thought._

* * *

Blake, Ruby, and I were walking in Vale as we were looking at the shops. Some got Ruby's attention while I smiled upon seeing Ruby happy.

Blake though only stopped at a few, either some book stores, or a few stores meant for Faunus. I swore I saw her batting a mouse toy at one of the pet shops but she denied it even happened which was a little funny.

"Say Enrique, what do you like doing when you come to the city?" Ruby asked.

"Well…" I rubbed the back of my head. "I often look around or go to a bookstore. Sometimes I go to the cafe as well."

"Bookstore? Which one, we have several.."

"Well, Tukson Booktrade is one I like to visit." I answered them.

The girls looked at each other before turning to me, each one having a sadden look. "Um… I take it you didn't hear the news?" Ruby asked.

"News about what?" They way they are didn't sound good.

"Just awhile ago.. Police found out he was… murdered… in his own store…" Blake added on. "Shot to the face… They don't have any evidence on it… It's now a cold case."

I stopped walking as the two were now in front of me. As I looked at the ground, painful memories of the car accident were brought back. My eyes somehow felt...dead again.

Blake stopped as she noticed me standing still. She then walked over as she placed her hand on my shoulder. "Enrique?"

I raised my head up to look at her, seeing her worried expression. "I-I'm okay." I assured, pushing the painful memory in the back of my mind.

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked, her eyes softened.

"I'll be okay. I-It's nothing to worry about, really." I assured.

Ruby then walked up as she had a frown on her face. She then quickly reached up and pinched my cheeks hard.

"Owowowowowow!" I cringed. She has a strong hand that's for sure. She then let go of me as she crosses her arms. "What was that for?" I asked.

"To get you to stop being such a worry wort…." she huffed. "I know it's painful.. But if you keep letting it control you like that, you'll never be able to move on."

I rubbed my cheek and looked at her. She proved a point though but I was still coping with what happened 5 years ago with Ruby and Blake being the only ones I told about my family. I let out a small smile, "You're right, Ruby. I guess I should right now focus on spending time with my friends and enjoy the day."

She beams. "Good! Now mind buying me some soda?" She asked bluntly.

"How about I buy soda for all three of us?" I suggested.

She giggled as Blake smiled at me, near by was a vendor that was selling many good things as we made our way to it. I placed in some Lein as we chose our respective canned beverages before sitting by a bench and drank them.

"That hits the spot!" Ruby cheered.

"That's because you enjoy anything that's sweet, Ruby." I pointed out. "I remember you sneaking into the dorm to steal Ankh's ice cream stash, the cookie dough flavored ice cream to be exact and he blamed me for taking it." Ruby looked away sheepishly as she drank more of her soda, avoiding my answers.

"Where is Ankh anyway?" Blake asked.

I shrugged, "He told me he was going to the ice cream parlor as usual. You know how he is with ice cream."

"It's his favorite treat," Ruby said.

"Like you with anything involving cookies?" I raised an eyebrow.

"That's not true!" She denied.

I looked at her with a blank expression before a mischievous grin appeared on my face. "Hey Ruby, look over there, a store selling nothing but cookies." I pointed.

Ruby beamed as she started to look around, looking for the store of cookies before she flinches and slowly realizes she was tricked as she turns back to me, seeing my cheeky grin on my face. She huffed as she turned away from me, "That was mean, Enrique…" she looked away. "And that doesn't mean anything!"

Blake and I looked at each other for a moment. "There's nothing to be ashamed to having a sweet tooth, Ruby." I smiled.

She slightly turned her head to look at me, an angered frown and death glare was what she sent at me, showing she does not want me to push it any further.

I raised my hands in defense, "That was a compliment, Ruby. I wasn't teasing you that time." She just huffs again, storming off from us.

"I think you took it too far…" Blake informed, making me sigh and I felt bad about it. "I should apologize to her." I got up as the both of us went to find Ruby.

* * *

After traveling around the city in search for Ruby, we found her, nibbling on a very large cookie, almost looking ashamed by eating it as her face was downward, looking at the ground and cookie. Blake gestured for me to talk to her in which I nodded and approached Ruby. "Hey Ruby?" I called out as I walk up next to her.

She continued to nibble on her cookie before I sat down next to her. "Ruby, it's nothing to be ashamed of, really." I explained, trying to cheer her up.

"It's… not that Enrique…" She muttered softly. Hearing this made me slightly confused. She wasn't mad? Then what was bothering her?

"Then what is it?" I asked.

"It's… the Greeed… The ones you face…."

"The Greeed?" I repeated in confusion before I realized to why she is mentioning the Greeed. "Is it because you don't want to go through what Weiss, Blake, Jaune, and Nora went through…?"

"It's not that…" She shakes her head as she looks at me. "I'm scared at what they can do to you…"

My eyes soften upon this. "Ruby…" I muttered. I never knew she was worried about me as I fight the Greeed.

"When you told me about your parents and little sister… it reminded me what happened to my mom…" She continued, hugging her legs close to her. "And when you fight against the Greeed, it makes me nervous knowing that you might get hurt like before... You said so yourself, the Greeed are powerful… and their powers made the Multi-King mad with power which made him seal himself..." She looked at me as I notice tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm scared that it might happen to you. We don't want you to end up like that man."

I gently wrapped my arms around the scythe wielder, comforting her. "Ruby listen, I won't die, trust me, my parents wouldn't want that to happen to me." I answered softly. "I won't end up like the Multi-King either, you know why?"

She shakes her head at me, tears flowing downward, like a stream. "It's because of my friends being there for me. Those that I want to help." I answered. "You guys help me get through the days. You were my second friend that I met when I came to Vale. Unlike the Multi-King, I rely on my friends to help me beat the Yummies and Greeed just like we did against the Mega Greeed. I assure you, I won't be like that greedy king, okay?"

Ruby smiled as she hugged me back, almost as tightly as when Yang hugs me. Seriously? Where do they get their hidden strength?!

"R-Ruby you're crushing me." I gasped out.

She seemed to didn't hear me as she squeeze on me more, I'm even starting to see spots and… chibi Blake's around me? I shook my head before looking down at Ruby as I see her smile. What felt like a moment, I suddenly saw my sister in her place once again, making me remember the times when I often talk to my little sister. I closed my eyes and shake my head, reminding myself that it is only Ruby but... she was starting to remind me of my little sister more and more. It was painful really… Ruby really reminds me of Marie in many ways.

It was like a part of my redemption was to meet Ruby who began to remind me of my little sister.

Ruby finally pulled away from the hug as she smiled, "Thanks, Enrique."

I looked at her for a moment before letting out a smile. "Anything to help my friend." I patted her head gently before getting up.

Ruby hopped out of her seat as I walked past Blake. "Enrique, are you okay?" Blake asked, noticing my expression.

"Yeah just old memories coming back is all…" I answered. "Ruby really does remind me of my little sister…"

Blake blinked, "She was everything to you, wasn't she?"

"She was the only person who cheered me up after my dad died…" I answered. "I was distant from everyone but her. To be honest, it hurts to know that she is like her in many ways…."

"Well, I'm sure now, she would be proud of what you accomplished." Blake smiled softly. Hearing this made me let out a small smile.

"Come on you two! Hurry up!" Ruby shouted. We turned our heads to see Ruby ahead of us before we grinned and followed her. As we followed her, I took notice of a familiar red Greeed who was leaving the ice cream parlor. "Hey guys, there's Ankh."

Ruby and Blake took notice before Ruby made me hide by the edge of the wall as all three of us watched. We watched Ankh leaving but we then took notice of the girl following him. "That's the blind girl he met before…" I remembered.

"Why is she following him?" Blake asked.

"Oh! Could they be on a date?" Ruby smiled.

"Knowing Ankh, I doubt it." I shook my head. "I think he is helping her… look."

The girls took notice as Ankh was gesturing the pinkette the sky, even describing it. "He's… being nice to her…." They said, totally surprised.

"Are…. you sure that's the same Ankh we know?" Ruby asked. "He could be an imposter…. He's never nice…."

We looked at Ankh again as the girl spoke to him before we heard him mention us. "That's Ankh alright." The weirdest part was that there was a slight smile on his face, shocking us more.

"He's actually smiling!?" We shouted in shock before we covered our mouths from the mistake. The Bird Greeed turned his head to our direction as an angered yet…. Embarrassed, look was shown on his face. "OI! I told you guys to leave me be!" He marched up to us as the girl he was with followed his voice.

"We were just exploring the town!" Ruby explained.

"I invited Blake and Ruby to come along!" I defended.

"Leave…. Now…." He growled at us.

"Are these your friends, Ankh?" The pinkette asked. Ruby, Blake, and I now got a good look of the girl and saw she was around our age, a year younger than me with waist-length pink hair, wearing a blue-green blouse while wearing a knee-length skirt. However, she had a cane by her side and the glasses she had as if they were meant for blind people.

Ankh flinched before he let out an irritated sigh. "More like the students that I teach at Beacon… Three of them to be exact..." he muttered.

Hearing this the girl smiled and looked at us before bowing. "It's nice to meet you three. I'm Sara Amethyst." She introduced herself as her glasses slightly lowered, revealing dull, grey eyes with scarring over them. This showed she was actually blind from whatever attacked her in the past.

"Um… I-Its nice to meet you Sara. I'm Ruby." Ruby introduced herself.

"Blake." The kunoichi was the next to introduce herself.

"The named Enrique." I introduced myself. "It's nice to meet you Sara."

Sara smiled upon our introductions before she said, "They sound like nice people, Ankh." she said to the Bird Greed who grumbled.

"So, how did you two become friends?" Ruby asked.

"I met Ankh when he helped me pick up my cane." She smiled.

Ruby looked at the two, "So… are you two like on a date or something?" Ruby asked bluntly.

Ankh's eyes twitch upon this. "We are not." He replied, oddly enough a faint blush appearing on his face without realizing it.

"Then, if you're not on a date, why you are blushing?" I asked.

He growled as he shook his head. He didn't want to say it was because of the body he was possessing since he was a Greeed and the hunger and such was from his host.

"I am not and I am telling you this, I am not dating." He said, irritated.

"Whatever you say…." Ruby giggles. None of us didn't even notice that Sara blushed lightly.

"Che…" he scoffed before Sara spoke up again.

"Well, I should go now. Thank you Ankh for helping me." She thanked before she walked away, using her cane as her guide to walk.

Ankh was a bit silent. "Do…. you need help back to your home?" He asked, not knowing why he said that.

"I'll be okay, Ankh." she smiled. "You should be with your friends."

He looked back at us then at Sara. "Just remember what I told you about how to see the world around you," he reminded. Sara nodded with a smiled before continuing her walk.

"You sure you weren't on a date?" Ruby asked again, smirking. The only answer we received was his death glare, making us flinch.

"I am saying this once, it is not from me, it is from this stupid body I am possessing." He stated. "This hunger, and what you humans feel, dream, and emotions, it is all from this host."

' _Keep telling yourself that Ankh..'_ Ruby said in her thoughts before she giggled.

"Let's just head back to Beacon and-"

" **FINALLY! I found you, you Faunus wench!"** A familiar voice shouted in anger.

We quickly turned around and saw none other than the Insect Greeed, Uva who looked to be very pissed. "Uva." Ankh muttered. "Surprised to see you here after that fight."

" **Shut up you traitor! I have a bone to pick with that wretched cat!"** He shouted, pointing at Blake. " **No Faunus should ever harm me especially to one like you!"**

"If you're still angry about that, maybe I can take another one from you?" She said, grabbing her weapon, ready for a fight.

The Insect Greeed could only chuckle evilly as he made three Cell Medals appear. " **Despite Kazari betraying me… I learned something from him. We** **do** **need to evolve."** He snapped them in half before throwing them onto the ground, gray mist appearing over the broken pieces as what appeared were gray mummy-like creatures with empty holds on their faces, unlike the Yummies formed from desires.

"What the? More Yummies? But I thought they need humans or Faunus for that?" Ruby got out.

"They aren't like the Yummies," Ankh informed. "Those Yummies are more like trash, cannot become a mature Yummy."

"Oh! I'll call them Trash Yummies then!" Ruby beamed, drawing out her scythe.

I quickly placed the O-Driver on my waist, the belt appearing around me as I placed in the King Combo and scanned the three Medals with the O-Scanner. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

Now adorned in the OOO armor, Ruby, Blake, Ankh, and I got our weapons ready as Uva got his dual-claw blade which surged with static.

" **Now my soldiers, take care of them while I handle the faunus."** he ordered the now called Trash Yummies. They groaned before they went after us while Uva went after Blake.

We met in the middle as we attempted to strike the Yummies but their hide was more resist to our physical attacks, even the Medajalibur and Crescent Rose couldn't cut them down easily, only to make them stumble back from the hits.

Blake was backing a bit away, sending a few shots at Uva who blocked some, spite more Cell medals falling from his armor.

 **"You will pay for hurting me you Faunus wench!"** Uva roared, lunging his claws at the Faunus kunoichi.

Blake used her Semblance to avoid an attack but Uva charged again to go after her in boiling rage. I guess Uva despised the fact that Blake actually made him lose some Cell Medals and held a grudge ever since.

I jumped in to help her out as I delivered a kick to the Insect Greeed's abdomen in which he moved back a bit from the hit he received. The Trash Yummies were knocked towards Uva as he got up.

"Those Trash Yummies won't be cut down." Ruby informed.

"Then I suggest this will work." Ankh tossed me the Kuwagata Medal, making Uva growl in utter hate. Removing the Taka Medal, I switched it with the Kuwagata Medal before I scanned the Medals once again.

 **KUWAGATA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

With Taka Helm now changed to the Kuwagata Helm, I heard the sound of a stag beetle in which the horns charged up and I unleashed green electricity unto the Trash Yummies while Uva avoided the attack. The Trash Yummies were in a spasm before they exploded into dust, leaving behind the broken pieces of cell medals.

"Physical attacks don't work but those type of attack will." Ankh observed.

"We better retreat right now…" Ruby said to us.

We nodded but just as we're gonna retreat, Uva unleashed his electricity onto the streetlight, causing it to fall in front of us. " **You will not escape from me!"** He roared. He rushed towards us, making the four of us go on the defensive as the Insect Greed's blade first clashed with Ankh's twin short swords.

" **Grr! Damn you Ankh! Get out of my way!"** Uva shouted, glaring at Blake. He pushed Ankh back and kicked him away before the three of us decided to fight as Uva growled upon the three of us helping each other. Uva's horns sparked as his mandibles click slightly. " **Wrong move."**

Before we knew it, he casted his electricity to his clawed arm, the voltage traveling to our weapons in which it caused us to scream out in pain. He kicked us back as my armor was smoking from the voltage, the three of us struggling to stand up.

" **Now…"** He glared at Blake. " **I will finish what I was suppose to do."**

"I think that's far enough…. Greeed." Replied a voice.

We all heard footsteps approaching us. Wondering who it was, we all turned our heads and saw Akira with his metal milk tank over his shoulder and his Birth Buster holstered by his waist. However not only he has the two objects, he was also carrying a briefcase.

"Mr. Akira!" Ruby and I said, surprised to see him again. Ruby did mention that the Kougami Foundation contacted him in need of something. What made him come here to fight Uva?

I took notice of Akira giving a grin as he looks at the Insect Greeed, placing down the milk tank. "So, you are a Greeed, eh? Never thought you would be slightly similar to the Faunus," he noted before he opened a few grey cans that had the word Gorilla and dropped them to the ground, the cans themselves becoming Gorilla Candroids.

" **What brings you here human?"** Uva growled. " **Making a death wish like OOO, the red hooded one, Ankh, and the wretched Faunus?"**

"Death wish? Bah, I'm doing what I was hired to do." He opened the briefcase and immediately grabbed what was inside, dropping the case to the ground.

 **(Cue Reverse/Re:Birth by Hiroaki Iwanaga & Asaya Kimijima)**

What caught all of us by surprise while I had a shocked looked under my helmet as well. In his hand was a silver belt which had an orb-like centre that looked like a gachapon ball which was white on the top and green on the bottom. The right side of the buckle had a gold knob which was able to turn like on certain kinds of vending machines. The other side was less decorative as a slab of silver and had a coin slot at one side for the person wearing it to drop coins into while the bottom had an opening to take them out.

It was the Birth Driver!

This means that he can become the secondary Rider from the show! Now this will be a sight to witness in person.

He placed the belt on his waist, the belt wrapping around him as he presented a Cell Medal. He flipped the coin and caught it with his other hand as the medal fell mid-air.

"Henshin." He dropped the Medal into the Driver. A round circle with an image of a Cell Medal on top appeared in front of the Driver as a hologram. Seeing this, he began twisting the knob.

* **CRANK!***

 ***CRANK!***

 ***POP!***

The centre of the Birth Driver popped open in a flash of light, signalling the activation. An orb of green light then surrounded him as several balls flew out from the belt and positioned themselves around him at certain points of his body. His shoulders, back, chest, knees, forearms, and thighs all played host to one of those orbs. Once they were in place, the orbs began unfolding into sections of armour which attached to his body. When the armour was formed, the spaces between were filled with a black bodysuit which was designed to take high amounts of punishment. Lastly, the helmet formed around Akira's head and completed the transformation, dispelling the orb that was around him.

His torso armour was green on the right side while the left side was silver with a green and white gachapon orb over the heart and gold lining the collar. His shoulder armour was somewhat small and round with more gachapon orbs. He wore silver gauntlets decorated with the same orbs with gold bands on the wrists along with brief thigh armour adorned with the same spheres. The leg armour was almost completely silver with orbs at his knees and gold bands around the ankles with black foot protection armour. The helmet sported a silver faceplate. His visor was a thin U-shape which had the ends pointing up like horns. Completing the look was a white and green sphere that was more dominated by the white side.

He had become Kamen Rider Birth!

"That. Is. So. Awesome!" Ruby exclaimed in awe.

" **What the…"** Uva said, surprised to what he witnessed along with Ankh. They both witnessed someone using a Cell Medal to be donned in armor.

Birth flexed his fingers, looking at his hands before he rubbed his hands together, ready to fight. "Alright, let's start earning," he announced before he charged towards Uva.

Uva growled upon the approach before he met Birth in the middle. Birth blocked the first attack from Uva before delivering a punch to the Greeed's gut then a double punch to the chest, making Uva stumble back a bit.

When Uva tried to attack him again, Birth dodges the attack before delivering a roundhouse kick to the Insect Greeed's head. The Insect Greed shook his head to clear his senses before glaring dangerously at the newly armored Huntsman. _"_ **Why you…"** Uva growled, his anger reaching its boiling point.

He charged at Birth who spun around before the latter got out another Cell Medal. "Let's see how this works," Birth insisted as he placed in a Cell Medal into his Driver and twisted the knob.

 **DRILL ARM!**

Just then, a large drill appeared over Akira's right arm, covering it up to his elbow. It began to spin as Birth looked amused. "Now time to test this bad boy." He declared before he marched towards Uva who charged towards the newly clad Rider with his claw raised at him.

Birth struck Uva's arm to move it away as Cell Medals were attracted to the drill. He then struck Uva across the chest, gaining even more Medals. Before we knew it, Birth stabbed Uva in the chest, the drill beginning to dig through his carapace, leaving us all astonished to the power. Hell, even Ankh, Ruby, Blake, and I were shocked to seeing it. This was pretty much badass to see in person.

Even more that this world's Akira has much more experience in combat than the Akira in the show.

"Kougami made that…?" Blake gasped, "All powered from a single Cell Medal…"

"So cool…" Ruby said in awe, her eyes twinkling like stars.

As we continue to witness the spectacle, I took notice of a blue glimmer beginning to appear on Uva's chest. It's one of Mezool's Cores! "Ankh, go into your arm form."

"Why?" Ankh cocked an eyebrow.

Blake was wondering the same thing until I pointed my head to Uva's chest as Birth was drilling through it. "I see a Core…" she noticed, seeing to what I was pointing to.

Ankh quickly looked and saw that we were right. Strangely, the Core Medal couldn't magnetize to the drill itself, making us assume that it was designed to only gather Cell Medals. The Bird Greeed now had a smirk on his face upon the realization, "An opportunity. Kougami, you are a clever old bastard."

He thrusted his arm out, his Greeed arm now shooting towards the two fighters. Once he was in range, he quickly grabbed the blue Core that was visible on Uva's chest before flying back to us. " **Gotta say, this was a good opportunity."** Ankh mused, flipping the Core before absorbing it.

He flew back to his host and got back up as Birth kicked Uva away before throwing the cell medals he collected to the milk tank, some not landing inside, making the Gorilla Candroids place them in the milk tank. "Using the suit in battle is better than reading a manual." Birth admitted, admiring the weapon on his armor as well as the design.

" **You will pay for that!"** Uva roared, rushing towards Birth in rage.

Deciding to help Birth, I got back on my feet, after the shock wore off on me before I kicked Uva away from the newly armored Rider and stood by him.

"Appreciate that." Birth nodded in thanks.

"No problem," I replied as the two of us faced the Insect Greeed as his chest healed up.

Ankh looked at the angry Greeed until he brought out two blue Core Medals. "Enrique, use these!" He tossed me two Core Medals. I took notice as it was the recently obtained core medal with the image of an orca while the other had an image of an eel. Deciding to take this advice, I removed the Kuwagata and Tora and replaced it with the two Core Medals then scanned them.

 **SHACHI!**

 **UNAGI!**

 **ZOU!**

The crests of the three Medals merged before changing the Taka Helm into the Shachi Helm. The Shachi Medal, representing an orca, donned me in a dark blue helmet with yellow eyes, white lightning bolts under those eyes, small fins on either side of my jaw, and a black faceplate. The top part of the helmet was pointed forwards and there was a fin on top.

Remembering how the Shachi Medal allows me to shoot highly pressurized water and Unagi allows me to use electric whips, I might as well give this Greeed a shock of a lifetime.

"Hey Uva!" I shouted, inhaling as I heard an orca's cry echo in my ears while my Shachi emblem flashed blue. The Insect Greeed turned his head to me before I unleashed my breath which was instead a highly pressurized stream of water. The water pushed Uva back by an inch as water began to drip from his skin.

" **Was that suppose to stop me?"** He questioned.

"No," I smirked as the sound of an eel was heard behind my helmet. The Unagi Whips extended into full length whips as they all saw electricity sparking off of it. "This will." I lunged the whip onto him, the whip wrapping around him as electricity began to deliver volts into him. He screamed out in pain before I released the whips off of him as smoke poured out of his skin, the Insect Greeed stumbling a bit, glaring at the five of us.

We were ready to go another round as I had the Unagi Whips at the ready, Birth with his Birth Buster, Ruby with her Crescent Rose, Ankh with his dual daggers, and Blake with her Gambol Shroud.

" **This isn't over OOO!"** He vowed. " **I will get back my Core Medals sooner or later!"** He then pointed at Blake. " **And you… I will kill you for hurting me, that I swear. No Faunus should ever harm me."**

The Insect Greeed then vanished into a cluster of Cell Medals and retreated, letting us except Birth and Ankh , let out a breath of relief.

 **(End Song)**

"That was close…" Blake said.

"Yeah…" Ruby agreed before she looked at Birth and rushed up to him, looking at him in all directions, observing his new armor. "And Mr. Akira, your suit is so awesome!" She beamed. "I mean who knew you can be in something like this? Is this why you went to the Kougami Foundation earlier?"

"Yep," He nodded, removing the Cell Medal and reverted back to civilian form. "Looks like it works too." He then huffed with pride. "And they said I should have read the manual."

I chuckled before tilting the buckle back to its original position, dispelling the armor. Removing the three Medals out of the Buckle, I handed them back to Ankh who placed them back in the Medal book. "At least we got on of Mezool's Cores, the Shachi Medal."

"That means if you get the Tako Medal and hopefully the Sai Medal, we will get two more Full Combos at the same time!" Ruby realized, now excited.

"Let's hope so, Ruby. The Greeed are no pushovers after all, remember?"

Ruby flushed a bright pink in embarrassment before saying, "Oh yeah… Forgot about that." She twiddled with her fingers.

"Let's head back to Beacon," Akira suggested, hoisting his milk tank over his shoulder. "It's starting to get late and you three should get to the dorms before curfew."

He wasn't kidding, the sun was already beginning to set since we had to fight Uva for a while. "Guess you're right about that," I agreed, rubbing the back of my head. "Thanks for helping us, Akira. If you hadn't arrived, we would have had trouble fighting Uva."

"Don't worry about it." He waved off. "Since Kougami assigned me to help you guys out with the Greeed, we gotta help our comrades in need." He reached his hand out, making me smile in which I obliged giving him a handshake.

"Hey where did Ankh go?" Ruby noticed, looking around. Blake and I looked around as well and saw she was right, Ankh was not here. However I had a feeling to where he went to.

"He'll be fine." I replied nonchalantly. "Let's head back to Beacon, I'm sure Ankh will catch up with us knowing him." They nodded in agreement before we made our way back to Beacon by taking the bullhead to the academy.

* * *

The four of us made it back to Beacon as we got over the shock but it was painful. "Thanks for helping us, Mr. Akira." Blake thanked.

"Eh, no problem little lady. Just doing my job is all." He responded. "Guess, since I am fighting again, my vacation is officially over."

"So… does that armor have a name?" Ruby asked, wanting to know about the new weapon and belt.

"From what Kougami told me, the belt is called the Birth Driver." He answered. "And for the armor, it is named Birth. So in the armor, it's Birth."

"Awesome…" she squealed, looking at the belt around his waist. "Um… Can I take a crack at it?" She asked.

He chuckled before patting Ruby's head. "Maybe someday but for now I have to use it."

"Wait, you mean it can be used by anyone?" Blake realized.

"That's correct," He nodded. "The Birth System was a project that they asked me to test it in combat. Seeing as how it did, I'm sure Kougami might insist on creating another seeing as how this was successful."

"Another?!" Ruby squealed with happiness again. Day dreaming about her using it, along with her Crescent Rose.

"But there is a catch isn't there?" I assumed.

"This project took them a couple of years to make." Akira nodded. "The Birth Driver wasn't easy to make from what I heard and so, I have to make frequent visits to the Foundation so they can run maintenance on the Birth Driver."

Ruby flinched upon hearing that, turning to Akira with a pouted look. "So… It could take another few years before they make another?" She whimpered softly.

"Don't worry, Ruby." He chuckled. "If I am unable to fight, I can allow you guys to use it, _if_ you don't use it like a joy ride." Ruby squealed upon hearing that, hugging Akira tightly.

"Thank you, Mr. Akira! You are the best!" She squealed.

Akira didn't even flinch or gasp for air to Blake and I's surprise. He must be used to their hugs since he knew them for a long time. "Anytime, Ruby." He smiled. "If you all excuse me, I am getting me some oden."

"Oden?" Blake asked, turning to us.

"It's his favorite meal." Ruby explained to Blake and I. "Back at Patch there was this noodle shop he goes to all the time. He used to take us there too." She then gets an idea as she turns to him. "Can we come along too?!" she shouted to him.

"I'll take you guys tomorrow." He waved before he was out of our sights. Ruby pumped her fist, happy upon hearing the answer.

"You guys will love it! There's one in Vale as well." Ruby said to us two. "I'm gonna head back to the dorm, and tell Yang." she quickly left in a flurry of petals.

I smiled before I yawned, feeling tired from the fight. "I'm gonna call it a day, that fight took a lot out of me." I looked at Blake. "Be careful okay? Seeing that Uva has a grudge he might want to go after us again."

Blake nodded and smiled softly. "Have a nice rest and I'll keep that in mind"

I nodded before heading back to my dorm to get a warm shower and get some sleep.

* * *

 _Blake watched the young Multi-King walking back to his dorm. He was concerned about her knowing that Uva wants revenge, wanting to kill her._

 _And for Blake as she was of course afraid of Uva's might…. But Enrique just somehow made all of those worries just…. Fade away. A faint blush appears on her face, as she holds her hand against her heart. She didn't know why she was feeling this, she just was…. And…. she didn't know how to explain it before she decided to head out too, hoping that she can get her answer soon._

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x2)**

 **Kujaku (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x2)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Kobura (x1)**

 **Kame (x1)**

 **Wani (x1)**

 **Shachi (x1)**

 **Unagi (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

 **Zou (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

 _ **"I wonder how strong a Yummy born from your desire will be, Roman?"**_ _Kazari wondered with a sneer._

"A hybrid Yummy!?" Yang exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the new Yummy that emerged from its wrappings.

 **SHA-SHA-SHAUTA! SHA-SHA-SHAUTA**

 **Next Time:** Elimination, New Yummy, Marine Combo

* * *

 **A/N:** Well that is it for this chapter! Kamen Rider Birth has finally made his appearance and obtaining the Shachi Medal! Look forward to the next chapter as we get to see another Full Combo soon. Also I'm allowing three people to see a sneak preview to an upcoming story I will put up soon. If you wanna see a preview of the chapter of **The Wild Omega (Kamen Rider Amazons [2016] x Akame Ga Kill)** PM me _but_ it will be given to the first three who PM (not review) me.

Anyways don't to check out my other stories and look forward to more soon. I will see you all in the next chapter. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	21. Chapter 20: New Yummy, Marine Combo

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the twentieth chapter of OOO! I hoped you all enjoyed Kamen Rider Birth's debut in the previous chapter as well as the fight against Uva. In this chapter, another Full Combo will make its debut. I do apologize for the long wait for the update of this story, it is not easy to make a good chapter while trying to not make mistakes.

Also I am so excited that Volume 4 of RWBY comes out on October 22nd! Yay! I can't wait to watch it when it premieres.

Anyways and remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]).

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _In the abandoned mansion, Uva was still reeling from the attack that the new armored warrior did. Even more OOO obtaining one of Mezool's Cores along with that wretched Faunus kunoichi injuring him once again._

 _Upon the memory, he swiped his hand across the bar, breaking some glasses of wine while roaring out in anger. "Damn them all…" He growled before falling back to his seat and chug down an intact bottle of wine._

 _Even though he couldn't taste it, he needed it to calm himself… only for a bit._

 _He needed to regain the loss of Cell Medals along with getting back his Core Medals. Setting the bottle down, he let out an angered sigh until an idea came up. The Trash Yummys he created… can it be possible that they can produce a Cell Medal? They were formed from broken cell medals after all in which makes sense for them._

 _Testing the theory, he produced a very small amount of the medals before he snapped them in half and threw the coins behind him. Before he knew it, more Trash Yummies were formed from the broken cell medals. "Go gather Cell Medals and bring them to me." He ordered. They moaned before they all left the mansion to do their master's task of gathering Cell Medals for him._

 _After taking another swig of the wine, his eyes narrowed as he stares at the bottle. "I will get my revenge OOO, especially my revenge on that Faunus kunoichi…. No Faunus should ever hurt me." He vowed before throwing the bottle to the wall, shattering it while spilling some of the contents inside it._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 20: Elimination, New Yummy, Marine Combo**

A couple of days past since Blake, Ruby, Ankh, and I were confronted by Uva but with Akira's help, we managed to get the Shachi Core that Uva took after the Mega Greeed's defeat. Right now, it was lunch time as Team RWBY, Team JNPR, and I were at our usual table, eating lunch while telling the others what happened yesterday. The look on their faces were that of surprise and skeptic.

"No way! Ankh was on a date!?" Nora exclaimed.

Ruby nodded. "Yeah! You should have seen it," she said. "Enrique, Blake, and I even saw him smile when he talked to her."

And that was when Weiss, Yang, and Team JNPR stopped what they were doing with Jaune dropping his fork as they all looked at Ruby.

"Please tell us that you are joking," Weiss stated.

"We are not kidding, Weiss," I replied.

"Our Ankh…?" Yang added in.

"Yes, Ankh actually smiled and was being nice to someone for once," I answered.

"Are you sure it's the same guy? Maybe he has a twin or lookalike."

"He told us to leave and not bother him like always," I started.

"He gave us his usual glare when he is upset," Blake continued.

"And he said it's all in the puppet that he is in, not him," Ruby finished.

"That sounds like Ankh alright," Yang muttered before looking at us. "But still, how can he smile? I mean the only time we saw him smile was when we got him a present on Christmas. Now there is a girl who can make him smile."

"Hey, we were surprised as you guys," I shrugged before looking around to make sure Ankh wasn't around and leaned in to tell them more. "But I think the reason that he is helping that girl was because the fact that she reminds him of someone. I realized that Ankh must have met someone who was also blind 800 years ago, someone he cared about… and he lost her."

"So that's why he is a jerk…" Yang realized.

"So the reason Ankh is kinda different around her is because she reminds him of someone he cared about," Pyrrha said in which I nodded in confirmation.

"Oh! Maybe she's his reincarnated lover?" Nora grinned.

"Nora… Even that feels too much… Even for you." Ren sighed.

"Yeah but don't mention this in front of him." I informed. "He doesn't want _anyone_ to mention the person from his past."

"We promise!" Nora beamed with her hand raised.

"Nora…" Ren frowned slightly at her.

She sighed, "Fine! I pinkie promise…" She frowned, pinkie promising to us.

"So… Was he also actually nice to the girl?" Jaune asked, wanting to know more.

"He helped her, from what he said, see the world around her," I recalled. "He was very descriptive to the surroundings when he was helping her."

"Ahhh…. Love at first sight!" Nora giggled.

"What did you say about 'love at first sight'?" A familiar voice growled. We froze before we looked across from us to see Ankh with his glare at all nine of us. Oh boy, he must have heard the last part of the conversation since we saw his signature glare and his Greeed arm present.

"H-Hey, Ankh," I waved sheepishly.

"I ask again…. What do you mean by, 'Love at first sight'?" He growled, glaring at Nora which made hide behind Ren as the Bird Greeed was waiting for an answer.

"Well uh… she was talking about Sloths! She loves them so much, it was love at first sight!" Ruby lied quickly, hoping he would believe it.

He stared at us for a full two minutes before he scoffed and sat down, bringing out his usual treat of ice cream to eat. "I thought so," He muttered before eating.

We let out a sigh of relief that Ankh didn't hear the previous statements we said about him and Sara. "By the way…" he then turned to me and Jaune, "You two. I want you both in the sparring arena first thing in the morning." Then he gives Yang a curious look, "Actually… You and Blondie here will spar instead…"

"Eh?" I blinked.

"Don't act dumb," He slapped the back of my head. "The reason is that my teachings to you, and your current skills, the difficulty has to increase, with and without the OOO armor to fight against the Greeed. And dealing with someone who can handle that and grow more is more suitable to your training… Thus blondie here.." He points to Yang.

To which she has a devious grin on her face, "Oh really now? Hmm.. I think I can manage that. Sides… I've always wanted to have a go against you, Enrique." she winked.

I rubbed the back of my head upon that. Ankh proved a point though, Kazari and Uva are strong and Ankh wants me to continue to train so we can weaken them both while having the skills Ankh once had before being in the host he is in now. The Greeed are powerful and were considered the first Huntsmen ever known since the Multi-King's Royal Alchemists created them to fight off the Grimm and protect the Kingdom.

"Guess you have a point," I agreed.

"Then Jaune? You'll be facing against Nora in your training." Jaune groaned while Nora cheered about the fact that she gets to spar against her leader.

* * *

After eating lunch, Yang and I were in the training arena as I was wielding my Medajalibur while Yang had her Ember Celica brandished in their gauntlet forms as Ankh, Blake, and Ruby watched the spar. The only people I sparred with was Blake and sometimes Cinder. "Are you ready for this, Enrique?" She asked with a grin, expecting a spar against me for a long while.

"Y-Yeah," I nodded nervously before getting to my stance.

"Good! Cause maybe later I can give you some private lessons?" she giggled, teasing me as I swear I could feel Blake glaring at me for some reason? Seriously, why is she like that?

However I soon realized what Yang meant which caused me to stammer and fluster lightly. "I-I think that isn't necessary, I don't even think that is a lesson."

"Aw, why not? Not man enough to handle a girl like me?" She teased, as more odd feelings from Blake's anger purge the back of my mind.

"Let's just focus on the spar," I insisted, wanting to avoid any further statements from her.

"Hmm.. fine." She giggled, getting into a stance, an eager spark in her eyes as she waits for the bell to ring.

The both of us saw the countdown begin before the bell rings, prompting us to charge at each other as Yang decided to deliver the first punch but I used the Medajalibur to block the hit since the sword was made with special alloys to cut through the Greeed. I began to swing my sword at her, but she was easily able to predict my movements and dodge easily.

After the next swing she started to wail on my body, punch after punch before giving me an uppercut as I land on my back. The room spun as my jaw hurt and vision was blurred. "Pathetic.. Get up Enrique!" Ankh shouted. I groaned softly as I rubbed my slightly sore jaw as I stood back up. I felt my Aura slowly healing it while I grabbed my Medajalibur off the ground.

"Come on, Enrique. Show me what you got." she smirked, enjoying this sparring match.

I took a deep breath and went back to my stance, the both of us circling, keep watching of who will try to attack first. My jaw still felt sore but my Aura was slowly healing it but it was painful. Yang charged in once again, prompting me to block it again but when she was about to deliver the next punch, I blocked the next attack again before I parried it and used the blunt end to hit her in the back after swerving from her second punch.

She looked back at me as she charged in, throwing more faster punches as I forgot that every time she gets hit, the damage helps her increase her power! She had a wicked smirk as her eyes were now red again, she was enjoying this more as she wanted to keep this sparring match going until we were both tired.

When I blocked the shotgun rounds, I rolled over and placed the O-Driver on my waist, the belt wrapped around me before I placed in the Medals that were necessary for this and scanned them.

 **TAKA!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **BATTA!**

With the amor formed after the crests aligned, I punched the Gori Bagons together before charging towards Yang. Due to the punching force of the Gori Bagons, they would have an advantage to Yang's Ember Celica.

Though… I think I might've regretted it as her hair began to light up like fire, her eyes sparkled brightly from this sensation, "Finally! I was waiting for you to bring those things out!" she chirped happily. She brought back her other fist and slammed it against my chest, I could feel the blow as I was pushed back from the strike. "Now if you can just do that full grey armor, then we'll be in business!" She beamed excitedly.

Upon blocking her next punch I deadpanned under the helmet, "I don't have Sai yet, remember? Even more, using it in a spar is a bad idea due to its Full Combo power."

"Just shut it and let's fight!" she beamed out, charging at me again.

' _Note to self… Try to beg Ankh to not let me spar with her again…'_ I groaned in my thoughts. I used the Taka Lenses to continue to predict each incoming movement that she attempted to bring. Each hit was blocked thanks to the Taka Lenses as I shot the Gori Bagons out like rockets at her. But what surprised me the most was that she caught them with her bare hands.

She tossed them aside before jumping back as she began to fire her shotguns blast at me, though I was able to block and deflect them thanks to Taka Lenses. To which I think I made her angry that I can stop them now as she charged back in, but this time she changed her tactics as she began to fire her blast while punching at me.

The Gorilla crest flashed, showing that it was near ejection in which I quickly switched Gorilla, reaching for Kame and quickly placed it in and scanned the Medals.

 **TAKA!**

 **KAME!**

 **BATTA!**

Now equipped with the Kame shields, I brought them up as I continue to block each incoming shot while approaching her. Upon hearing the click from her gauntlets, I brought them down and jumped to deliver the Batta Kicks to her gut before delivering another kick that sent her up in the air.

She gritted her teeth as she grabbed my arm and drew me in closer, once close enough she smacks me in the head as I was tossed near the edge of the ring. "That hurt, Enrique…" She groaned rubbing her stomach.

"You did say I have to show everything I learned so far against you." I recalled. "But I don't like hurting my friends."

"Heh. And glad you kept that in mind." She smirked, standing up. "Just was seeing if you wouldn't wuss out when I got 'hurt'?"

I looked where I was and saw this was a final stand since I was at the edge of the ring. "Shall we finish this match?" I asked, going into my fighting stance.

She grinned back, her fiery hair glowing brightly, "Let's…." She answered, getting into her own stance. She charged forward as I waited, following Ankh's teachings from before.

One thing he said, too much confidence will lead to defeat. I shouldn't get too confident at all in which I had to comply to his teachings. Just in time, I brought up the shields and blocked her punch creating an orange surge of energy that emitted from the hit before using Batta legs to jump over her and used the heel of my armored foot to kick her forward before landing back on the ground while Yang was outside of the edge.

Despite being out of the arena, a soft chuckle can be heard before the blonde huntress pops up, laughing brightly as she turns to me, her eyes back to normal, "That was the most fun sparring match I have ever had in a LONG time… I think even uncle Qrow would like to spar you?" She smiled, standing up before dusting her skirt.

"Ankh said that having too much confidence is one major mistake in fighting. So… He told me that I can't be too confident to beat something that seems weaker. Weak or strong, they can win no matter what." I remembered. "I had to use Kame Shields as a taunt along with the Gori Gauntlets."

"Wise words." She said, smirking, "Think you can show me later?" She grinned.

"Well uh…."

But before I could say anything, I feel someone tugging on me as I turn to see Blake, now her arms wrapped around my right one, while having a pouty like look on her face, "I think that's enough for now, Yang…. Come on Enrique…" She said, dragging me away.

"Uh… okay?" I replied, confused.

With Ankh, Yang, and Ruby, the Bird Greeed scoffed upon seeing what occurred. "Never thought that he would be an oblivious idiot stereotype." He said.

"One reason why I'm doing this to get Blake to just tell him… It's painful to see, especially when the WHOLE school knows of it…" Yang sighed. "The whole school knows that Blake is into him."

"They'll get the gist of it some time…. Right?" Ruby questioned.

* * *

 _In the White Fang base, all the grunts were doing their usual tasks but they weren't the only ones there. Torchwick was looking at a map while Neo was swinging her legs while sitting on a crate. Kazari however, he was in his human form, watching each member of the White Fang do their tasks. He was eyeing each one, sensing the desires they are brimmed with. Oh how many Yummies he could make out of them_ but _he would be wasting his energy._

 _He was still low on his own Core Medals but he still has the two Tako Medals and the Sai Medal. If it wasn't for the busty blonde, he would have had two of Gamel's Cores but now he is left with one of the beast Greed's Cores. He needed more Cell Medals and to do that he needs to make a Yummy._

" _Decisions, decisions," he hummed lazily._

 _He just couldn't decide who to choose as a host for a new Yummy. That was then he remembered Uva making a Yummy from Torchwick. There's a saying: two heads are better than one. In other words, making another Yummy from the same host is better than making it from a new host. "Roman." He called out with a grin._

 _The criminal turned around to Kazari. "What is it this time?" he asked._

 _Kazari's grin grew from ear to ear before he presented a Cell Medal and approached him while going into his Greeed form. Taking notice of the Cell Medal, Roman took a step back._

" _What are you doing?" Roman questioned the approaching Feline Greeed who chuckled._

 _ **"I wonder how strong a Yummy born from your desire will be, Roman?"**_ _Kazari wondered with a sneer as he presented a Cell Medal. "_ _ **Uva may have created one from you but I can smell another desire you have…"**_ _Neo only watched as Kazari had Torchwick by the wall. "_ _ **And it is quite suitable for a Yummy to be born from, a**_ **special** _ **Yummy."**_

 _He brought the Cell Medal close to the criminal as a coin slot appeared on his forehead in which Kazari tossed it in. Instead of bandages forming around Torchwick, a yellow void appeared in front of him before a Yummy walked out as it stumbled a bit before looking at Kazari while the two criminals and members of the White Fang just stared at the new creation._

 _The Feline Greeed chuckled in amusement before looking at the Yummy. "_ _ **What is it you want to do?"**_ _He asked the Yummy but he knew what the obvious answer was._

" _ **Eliminate…."**_ _It said. "_ _ **Eliminate red riding hood and her friends…"**_ _It was referring to Ruby and her friends._

 _Kazari went into his human form and grinned, placing his hands in his pocket. "Good, now go on." He ordered, the Yummy nodding before it left the room and leaving the base._

 _Torchwick watched what occurred. Kazari created one of those things from him. First Uva and now Kazari. "What am I, some sort of Lab Rat to you guys?" He questioned the Feline Greeed._

 _Kazari went to his human form, giving Torchwick a cheeky grin. "You and everyone else here are simply walking piles of desire, including Ice Cream head here." He gestured to Neo at the last part._

 _Neo though, glared at him as she was about to draw out her blade until Torchwick stopped her. He shook his head as she put the blade back before storming off, "Look buddy… We are not your tools. You want to keep helping us and same with you? Then you should look where your privilege is at…"_

" _Help?" He snorted, looking at his fingers. "I would have killed you where you stand right now." He pointed out. "But I prefer… 'to have more players to the game.'"_

 _Torchwick scoffed as he walked off, lighting a cigar from the annoyance. 'Cinder better have something planned for this walking fur coat… Cause I'm getting tired of this….' He growled in his thoughts._

" _Kazari…." Cinder called out to him._

 _The Feline Greeed turned around to see Cinder approaching him. "Oh Cinder, surprise to see you here. Something must have brought you back here."_

" _Yes…. That and you…" She glared, her eye having flames around it, "I don't like it that you're using my men as discarded tools… I rather keep them in top shape."_

 _Kazari drawled before going back into his Greeed form. "_ _ **You know me Cinder…**_ _" He chuckled. "_ _ **But you do know what I can do, right?"**_

" _Yes… But you should know, what I can do too…"_

" _ **You mean… One of the Four Seasons?"**_ _He snorted, looking at his claws, glistening in the sunlight that shined through the window. "_ _ **I once thought them to be myths but sensing your power, I finally realized it. A Greeed…"**_ _he looks at her. "..._ _ **Can't be killed by Dust or**_ **that** _ **power. You can see why we were sealed 800 years ago and OOO being the reason."**_

" _Yes… I know… But if you don't listen to my warning.. I assure you… 'Her' power… will break you easily…" She threatened, walking off from the Greeed._

" _ **Decisions… Decisions."**_ _He chuckled._

 _With Cinder she was looking over her Scroll, searching more information of the young Multi-King. Despite having no record of anything about him and his skills, there was a mention of him fighting a mantis monster as a flying arm helped the young man. That was the day the Greeed arrived, including Enrique._

 _A thought overcame her, wondering if there was a way to making him use his power and get rid of Kazari if he should try anymore stunts again. Whatever it was she knew that something had to be done…._

 _However she remembered Kazari saying that OOO's power is connected to the user until he is sealed, in other words it stays even beyond death. With that Bird Greeed, she could guess he took precautions and warned him about the use of the O-Driver. She remembered overhearing how the power can drive one to death upon use but Enrique… It doesn't affect him._

 _The Greeed are embodiments of Desires, their Medals are as well. The King became mad with power from the Medals but Enrique… it didn't affect him which meant one thing: he lacks desires._

' _Hm… Maybe I can find a way to use that 'lack' to my advantage?' She wondered in her thoughts. She has to make the young man join her. "Guess I'll have to woo him to join me." She said to herself softly, but with an enjoyable grin._

* * *

I continued to be dragged by Blake across the Academy while I was left confused. During the dragging, I already reverted back to civilian form. "Where are we heading to Blake?" I asked in confusion. She didn't reply to me as she kept marching, farther away from the others and what almost looks like to be out of the school?

"Blake, why are you dragging me away? Isn't this like the second time already?" I recalled.

"Hm?" She finally took notice as she stopped dragging me and quickly let go of my arm, "I.. I don't know what you're talking about…" She denied quickly.

"Then why did you drag me from the training room all the way to the other side of the academy?" I raised an eyebrow.

"It's…. It's just your imagination Enrique…"

"Blake, just what's going on with you?" I asked. "First you were ignoring me when I was only sparring with Cinder, then you dragged me away from talking to her, even more is that when I was talking to Yang, you were upset and after that, you dragged me away from them. Can you just tell me what is wrong with you?"

Blake had her eyes closed, her hand trembling as she quickly disappears, running off from me and leaving me stranded in the open. "Blake…" I sigh softly, not sure why she ran off. "Why has Blake been acting like that…?" She has been acting like a few weeks after the incident at the docks, including saving her from Kazari when Uva and Gamel raided the vans not too long ago.

"Hello, Enrique." A familiar, soothing voice rang out behind me.

I looked back to see Cinder with a smile and her eyes half-lidded for some reason. "Oh, hi Cinder." I waved slightly.

"Is everything alright?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.

"Yeah, Blake's been acting strange for the past month." I replied. "I don't know why but I often try to ask her but she couldn't find an answer and instead she quickly runs off."

"Hmm… Perhaps she's hiding something and unsure what to do?" I then felt her arm now hooking into mine. "Care for a walk?" She asked, a slight smile on her face.

"Well…" I scratched my cheek lightly upon her request.

"Please… for me?" she asked, her eyelashes batting at me softly.

I felt flustered from her tone as I blush, "A-Alright, sure…" I accepted. "Where would you like to go to?"

"Hmmm… How about the garden out back?" She smiled softly.

"Okay," I nodded before following Cinder to the garden. When the both of us made it to the garden, I was looking at the plants that was in my sights, making me let out a small smile upon seeing some of the plant life. "I haven't been at the garden for a while…" I said with a small smile.

"You come here often?" She asked.

"Yeah, I often come here since some of the plants are familiar to me." I replied. "It makes me feel like I am back home… sometimes Blake comes here with me."

Cinder was silent for a moment, "What… does Blake mean to you?" She asked me, keeping her bangs covering her eyes.

"Well... she is the fourth person I became friends with and I understand how she felt." I explained. "I know how she felt being left alone while growing up because it happened to me. We look out for each other."

"I see… Nothing… 'else' I take it, that you feel for her?"

"Huh?" I tilted my head. "What do you mean by that?"

"Heh… Nothing…." She chuckles softly, before looking at me as I see the light shining from her eyes. "So… what do I mean…. to you?"

"You are my friend, Cinder." I replied. "Why would you ask me that?"

She has a sly grin, stopping as she still holds my arm. She then places her finger against my chest and pushes me until I'm against a tree, "Enrique… do you like me?" She asked, her eyes lidded.

"Eh?" I got out. "Why ask me that question?"

"Isn't it… obvious?" she asked, wrapping her arms around my neck. I felt a blush rising up my cheeks, "Ci-Cinder what are you d-doing?"

"What do you think?" She giggled softly, leaning in, "I ask again…. What. Do. You. Think. Of. Me?"

"Well…" I looked away as I said, "I think of you as my friend…"

It was then I suddenly felt her grip loosen upon my reply. "Did I say something wrong?" I asked, confused.

"Is that what you think of me?" She asked.

I sighed before looking at her. "Cinder, I think of you as my friend, okay?" I explained.

"Why do you think of me as your friend?"

"I don't know…. It's just that…" I tried to explained, gently moving myself away from her. "It's just something that I am trying to find out… I have been like that for a while but I don't know why…" I began to walk away before looking at Cinder. "I'll see you at class tomorrow." I waved before I continued to walk away, despite knowing that it seems rude to just leave like that.

* * *

 _Cinder was left speechless as she watched the young swordsman walk away after telling her that he doesn't understand it or how to express it exactly. He hardly understands the meaning of love which showed he was slightly oblivious to it. But her plan… failed?_

' _That should be impossible… I have never failed to use my feminine ways to get what I want…' She growled in her thoughts, her hand clenching tightly in anger. Even more that hearing how he considers Blake._

" _I will not let that happen…. If he does, then everything will be ruined…" she growled, knowing she would have to get even closer to get him to work for her, one way or another._

* * *

I sighed as I ran my hand through my hair as I was heading back to my dorm. What happened back at the garden surprised me but also made me feel a bit flustered as to how she approached me.

"Enrique? What are you doing here?" I turned my head to see Ruby walking towards me, a confused look on her face.

"Oh, hey Ruby, I'm just heading back to my dorm is all," I replied. "Have you seen Blake? I wanted to ask her why she has been acting strange for the past month."

"Mhm…" She shook her head. "Sorry… Did something happen?"

"It's because I wanted to ask her something. Do you know why she has been acting like that?"

Ruby flinched, as if there is something she has to say. "S-Sorry Enrique… But no…." She said.

"Oh… well thanks for trying, Ruby," I smiled softly before letting out a sigh. "It's just been busy for me."

"A-Anytime Enrique! Heh… heh…" Ruby gulped.

I was about to enter my dorm until the door was slammed open to my face, knocking me down to the ground. "Ow…" I groaned. I felt the pain as some blood trickled down, making me focus on my Aura to heal the small injury. Wondering who slammed the door open, I look up and see Ankh as he still had his grip on the doorknob, "What was that for Ankh!?" I exclaimed, holding my nose to heal it with my Aura and preventing further bleeding.

"There's a Yummy," He informed with a grin. "You know what that means: Cell Medals for me."

"You mean me?" Akira said from the room as the Gorilla Candroid was detecting it as well.

Ankh on the other hand, a tick mark was present on his forehead before looking at the older Rider. "Those Cell Medals are for me to regain my body! Not for you to use as ammunition!"

"Well, tough luck buddy. I need them. Sides, you won't lose much when I use them." He smirked.

Ankh's eye twitched before I stepped in, "Take it easy, Ankh. I know you don't like it but we need the help we can get since Ruby and the others are helping out as well. Plus, we are under contract to give Kougami 70% of the Medals. He even hired Akira to help out too. He did give you the chance to obtain the Shachi Medal from Uva."

"Grr.. don't remind me….." He scoffed, storming away from us as he heads out to grab a Ride Vendor.

I sighed before Akira and I followed Ankh to the bullhead to start our search for the Yummy. As we were getting close to Vale, I was in my thoughts upon what was wrong with Blake. She has been acting strange sometimes whenever I talk to Yang along with Cinder. I wonder what was wrong with her? My thoughts were soon interrupted as the bullhead landed, making the three of us walk out as Ankh was using his ability to detect the Yummy while Akira was using the Gorilla Candroid to detect it as well. "Will that stupid machine ever stop?" Ankh said in irritation.

"Hey, Gorie here helps me find them. Sorry, I can't sense them like you egghead." Akira frowned.

"Gorie?" I blinked. "You named the Candroid?"

"Of course. I name everything I own." He smirked.

I stared at him for a moment before I facepalmed upon realizing something. Knowing that Ruby and Yang knew Akira when the two were little, Ruby must have gotten the naming weapons stuff from him. ' _Now I know why Ruby names her weapons…'_ I realized in thought.

As we continued our walk into Vale, Ankh stopped before turning left and right. "The Yummy is here," He informed. Before we knew it, we saw the Yummy trudging across the street, shoving people away as it seemed to be looking for something. What is it looking for?

It then soon turned to us, its eyes glowing softly, _**"You are….. Friends of Ruby…"**_ It said to us.

"Eh?" I got out.

"That doesn't sound good," Akira noted, reaching for his Birth Buster.

Seeing that he is getting prepared with his gun, I got the O-Driver out from my pocket and placed it on my waist, the belt forming around my waist. I then grab the first two Core Medals, placing them in then the Tora Medal. Once all three are in, I tilted the buckle and grab the O-Scanner to scan the Medals. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

The crests flew around me before they aligned and formed the armor. Getting into my stance, I charged towards the Yummy as the Tora Claws extended. The Yummy oddly enough dodged my attacks as I tried to swipe at it, only for it to kick me away and go after Akira!

"Ho? Seems like it wants to beg to be turned into medals for me!" He smirked, dodging the Yummy's attacks with ease before giving a few hard blows himself thanks to the modifications of the parts on his weapon that Kougami must have gave him to be able to injure the Yummy.

The kaijin stumbled back from the hit before it tried to go after me instead. Now I know why it is only after me and Akira! It is going after those that know Ruby! "It must be after us because we know Ruby!" I said before using the Tora Claws to strike the Yummy away.

"Eh?" Akira glared at the Yummy before shooting it with his Birth Buster, "If this Yummy plans on hurting my favorite girls, then he's got another thing coming!"

Seeing that we have to stop this Yummy before it can harm Ruby and the others along with the both of us, Akira placed the belt on his waist, the belt wrapping around him as he presented a Cell Medal. He flipped the coin and caught it with his other hand as the medal fell mid-air.

"Henshin." He dropped the Medal into the Driver. A round circle with an image of a Cell Medal on top appeared in front of the Driver as a hologram. Seeing this, he began twisting the knob.

* **CRANK!***

 ***CRANK!***

 ***POP!***

The centre of the Birth Driver popped open in a flash of light, signalling the activation. An orb of green light then surrounded him as several orbs flew out from the belt and positioned themselves around him at certain points of his body and donned him in the Birth armor. He rubbed his hands together, "Alright, let's start earning."

Akira and I charged towards the Yummy from both sides as we both punched the Yummy, sending it rolling across the ground. It growled as it charged us again, but we dodged it before kicking it away. The Yummy stumbled to the ground before slowly getting up and began to glow, brightly. It twitched more and more before saying, " **I will… eliminate Ruby and her friends!"** It shouted and before we knew it, it glowed a yellow and surprisingly blue color before a new monster came out as the wrappings shed from its hide, taking us by surprise upon seeing a new form of Yummy.

"A hybrid Yummy?" Birth observed upon seeing the new Yummy that emerged from its wrappings.

It was a mix between a squid and a jaguar bit more ugly looking at the mouth had tentacles coming out of it as the left side of its body was draped with more tentacles of a squid. Its right arm was that of a spear while its chest has a boned rib cage.

I really wasn't seeing things and this was no stunt either. It was the Ika-Jaguar Yummy from the OOO series. Even more is that it was _way_ more ugly in person than it was in the show.

"This isn't good…" I grimaced.

"You two better be careful. The sneaky shrew actually created a Yummy from the power of Mezool's and his own Core Medals." Ankh warned from the rooftop.

"Thanks for the info," Akira said sarcastically as the Yummy charged towards us. When Akira blocked its hit, it used its newly found strength to use the spear on its right arm to strike Akira across the chest before the tentacles on its left side to extend and sent us flying across the street. "Ow…" The huntsman groaned.

"This Yummy is a strong one…" I agreed as the both of us got up. The Ike-Yummy used its tentacles to slam us across the ground before thrusting its spear-like arm to strike my armor before sending one more attack to send me rolling across the ground, causing me to wince in pain. Seeing as now back on the ground, the Yummy was about to deliver its attacks once more but it was interrupted by someone.

"HAAAAAA!" A familiar voice rang out, we turned our heads as Yang jumped off of the building and began firing upon the Yummy, forcing it to block from her fire, and bullets before dropping down next to us, "How's it hanging guys? Not too wet yet?" she smirked.

"Yang? Why are you here?" I asked as Akira got back up as drew out the Birth Buster again to keep the Yummy away from us.

"Duh, I'm here to help!" She responded as she and Akira fired at the Yummy.

"You only made it worse," said Ankh. "The Yummy was born from the desire to harm Ruby and anyone she knows which includes you three."

"Exactly why, it's the best choice in getting rid of you all…"That snarky familiar voice rang out.

We quickly saw a familiar Feline Greeed in his human form as he leaned against a light post, across from us and giving a toothy grin. "Kazari…" Ankh said, his tone hiding the hate that was laced behind his words. "Why am I not surprise for you to do something like this."

"You know me Ankh," Kazari drawled before noticing Yang. "Ah, hothead, you are here as well. Makes things easier for the Yummy. Killing two birds with one stone but instead it is four with one stone."

Yang's eyes turned red as she fried a shot at him, to which he used water to stop it, "Why don't you come down here and fight like the cat you are?!" she shouted out at him. I swear I could feel Kazari's snarky attitude break like glass...

"You know… I'm still reeling from the hit you delivered back on the bridge." He grinned, an audible pop was heard from his neck. "And the loss of one of Gamel's Core that I absorbed…" He then went into his Greeed form as he looks at his claw-like blades, glistening in the sunlight. "How about I enjoy spilling your guts? And that isn't a joke."

"Bring it on you pathetic excuse of a cat!" She taunted, angry that he would try to hurt her sister with this tactic.

"Yang, wait," Akira stopped her. "Don't let your anger get to you. Using the Yummy is one thing but for him to say that, it is only a lure for him to kill you."

"Akira is right, Yang." I nodded as I stood by the two. "You try to handle the Yummy, Akira and I will handle Kazari." I placed my hand on her shoulder. "After all, I reach out to help my friends in need of help."

Yang sighed before calming down as her eyes turned back to normal and gives me a soft smile, "You're a lucky man…. Heh, if she didn't like you, I would rock… your…. world.." she winked, charging at the Yummy.

"Eh?" I blinked under my helmet. "Hey Akira what did she mean by that?"

Akira turned his head to me, I swear he blinked under his helmet. "Really?" He chuckled. "Never thought you to be that type of person." He patted my back a bit too much, "Maybe you'll learn it when you finally realize it yourself."

The armored huntsman was the first to charge at Kazari while I followed along, the both of us and tried to punch Kazari but he blocked the attack before striking my torso, attempting to weaken the power of the Tora Medal so it can eject from the O-Driver.

"You two are out of your league…" Kazari huffed, sending a blast of water at us, pushing us back from our spots.

We winced from the highly pressured blast as the both of us were drenched in water. I turned my head to my side to see the other two Medals I carried: Unagi and Kame. Seeing Unagi, I grabbed the Medal and quickly switched it with Tora before scanning the buckle that held the Medals.

 **TAKA!**

 **UNAGI!**

 **BATTA!**

Now equipped with the Unagi Whips, I got myself prepared while Akira thought it was also time to make a change. The Gorilla Candroid grabbed a Cell Medal from the milk tank and tossed it and a great length to the Huntsman who caught it before placing it inside his belt, twisting it before an orb glowed on his left arm.

 **SHOVEL ARM!**

Pieces of metal attached to his arm, now formed a large shovel like arm that is now equipped to his arm. "Let's shovel out some coins!" Akira smirked, as he charged in, Kazari for once, was dodging his attacks, trying to keep away from him, yet some how, he kept getting closer and closer. The weapon, since it was named Shovel, must be why since he will be digging out Cell Medals from Kazari.

Waiting for the right opportunity, I carefully went around the two as the sound of an eel was heard behind my helmet, making the whips extend while sparking electricity. "Akira, now!" I shouted, thrusting my arm out as the whips extended out to the Feline Greeed, wrapping around him.

He smirked, nodding to me as he charges in, once close enough, he begins wailing on the Kazari, sparks and Cell Medals flew off of him like fireworks as he yelled out at the loss of so many medals. **"You won't do that anymore!"** He shouted out, sending a blast of water and wind at us, sending the both of us flying and impacted against the wall while Akira crashed through a window.

He plucked some of the Cell Medals he lost off the ground before walking towards me as I struggle to get up as my back was against the wall. " **Now, I will be getting what is-"** He was interrupted as his body stiffen. " **Mine…"** He slowly looked back, only to see Ankh's arm form. The Feline Greeed looked at the rooftop, seeing Ankh's host. " **Not again…"** He quickly lashed back, preventing Ankh from taking his Cores with the Bird Greeed losing one of the two Tora Cores we collected but managed to get a certain Tako Medal and Zou Medal in his hand. He quickly flew back to his host, repossessing him before he ogled at the two Cores he obtained.

"You seriously have to watch your back Kazari," huffed the Bird Greeed. "You took one of your Cores from me but this is fair enough."

" **You…. Lousy bastard!"** He growled out, finally showing his anger at us for the first time. Man, he was seriously pissed. **"** **If I lose yet another core! Then you lose her!"** He stated, turning towards the Yummy, **"Drown the hothead!"**

The Ike-Jaguar Yummy nodded, dodging Yang's next strike before wrapping its tentacles around her, the blonde huntress struggling before it jumped off and into the water, dragging her down with it.

"Yang!" I called out as the Ike-Jaguar Yummy dragged her into the water. I had to do something, I don't want to lose any of my friends to the Greeed and Yummies. I was about to panic until I remembered the Tako Medal we got from Kazari. I quickly looked at Ankh. "Ankh, I need Shachi and Tako Medal!" I exclaimed.

Ankh looked at me for a moment before he tossed me the Shachi and Tako Medal as it then landed in my hand. I placed in the Shachi Medal and Tako Medal as I now had all three blue Core Medals in my belt. Once in, I grabbed the O-Scanner and scanned the medals.

 **SHACHI!**

 **UNAGI!**

 **TAKO!**

 **SHA-SHA-SHAUTA! SHA-SHA-SHAUTA!**

The crests of the three said Medals formed a blue crest before it flew back to me. Now I was equipped with all three blue Core Medals which was Shachi, Unagi, and Tako.

This was the Marine Combo, ShaUTa.

 **(Cue ShaUTa Combo - Shout Out)**

The power that was coursing through my body, it felt interesting. It felt like my body was rather able to be liquified while my lungs felt like they were capable to allow me to breathe underwater. I took a deep breath before I jumped into the water as I felt my body suddenly adjusted itself to allow me to survive in the water with the armor.

Hearing the sound of an octopus behind my helmet, I sped faster towards the Yummy before a delivered a flurry of kicks in which it released Yang and allowed me to grab hold of her and head back to the surface. Once I did, I landed on the docks and set Yang down, the blonde brawler coughing water out of her lungs. I let out a sigh of relief to see she is alive. "Enrique…?" she coughed.

"You're alright." I sighed in relief under my helmet. I took notice of Birth running up to me. "Akira, can you take Yang to the infirmary? The Yummy is right now-" Before I can finish, the Ike-Jaguar Yummy popped out of the water and grabbed me before bringing me into the water as it was trying to choke me knowing that the Full Combo was allowing me to breathe underwater. As we were going deeper into the water, I struggled from its grip as the Yummy was trying to crush my neck until I began to focus on the Full Combo. Before I knew it, its tentacle phases through me as my body acted like water, feels funny not to mention. It tried to strike again only for it's attack to pass through me thanks to the power of the Full Combo.

Now prepared, the Tako Legs activated again as I delivered another set of multiple strikes to its chest. I swam around the Yummy to avoid its incoming tentacles that it tried to swing at me. Dashing towards the Yummy, I used the Tako Legs and wrapped them around its arms, allowing me to deliver a series of punches and kicks to it as cell medals were bleeding out of its form.

It was now in fury, " **Eliminate OOO!"** It roared before lashing its tentacles at me.

I used the Unagi Whips to whiplash the Yummy, causing a painful shock to its body before I spin around and sent the Yummy out of the water, landing on the surface.

Since I finally got the Yummy out of the water, I swam up and jumped out before facing the Ike-Jaguar once more as it got up.

Hearing the sound of the eel behind my helmet, the Unagi Whips extended once more before I began to whiplash the Yummy, each hit causing it to reel back in pain of each shock it received while losing more and more Cell medals.

" **I.. will… eliminate OOO and... his friends…!"**

I twirled the whips before I lashed out on both the Yummy and Kazari, causing both of them to lose some Cell Medals. Kazari rolled across the ground before he got back up, clutching his chest as smoke was emitting from his 'skin'.

He stumbled a bit before glaring at me. " **I will get you next time… I will get my Cores back sooner before Ankh or Uva get their Cores back."** He vowed, pointing his claw at me.

I stared at him before I took a deep breath. "I know one thing, Kazari." I countered. "If the people I protect are okay then I am okay as well." I delivered a whiplash which wrapped around him before I spun around with as much strength as possible with the help of my Aura before sending him flying, disappearing from our sights. "And that was for trying to send a Yummy to harm Ruby and my friends along with trying to make the Yummy drown Yang."

Akira was already at work, collecting his fill of Cell Medals that spilled from Kazari and the Yummy, while Ankh was trying his best to grab as much as he could, despite the hunter being one step ahead of him. Yang though finally stood up, flicking her hands as she tries to dry off as quickly as she can. Then the both of us looked at the Yummy who got back up as it was finally weakened.

"Time to finish this!" I declared before scanning the medals in the buckle.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

With the Unagi whips, I lashed at the Yummy, grabbing it before I drags it up in the air as I too jump to the air, the Tako Legs forming as soon descends while the Tako Legs form a drill and pierced through the Yummy, causing it to explode into cell Medals.

 **(End Song)**

"My medals!" Ankh said as his arm form began to take as much Cell Medals as he can as the medals rain down to the ground.

The medals he couldn't catch, Akira used a Cell Medal and placed it in the slot of his belt before twisting the knob.

 **CRANE ARM!**

A crane-like device formed on his right arm before he swung his arm out, extending the hook as it began to magnetize the medals Ankh couldn't get before it reconnected to the mechanism on his arm. "And I got mine."

"No!" Ankh shouted out, flying over to the mass of medals on the crane, trying to pry them off, "They're mine!"

"Oi, oi!" Akira argued as he tried to slap away the Greeed arm, leaving me and Yang to watch the two argue over the Medals they collected.

However for me, I was feeling the effects as I stumbled until Yang helped me up. "Thanks Yang," I thanked as I moved the buckle back to its original position, dispelling the armor.

"Hey, anytime." She winked as oddly enough I think I feel her touching my chest? I looked down a bit and saw she was, making me blush lightly before I sighed. "We should head back... "

* * *

 _Meanwhile, back at the White Fang HQ, Kazari is slashing, breaking, and destroying anything he could find. Angered to lose another Core that he used. Though, it wasn't all bad as he lifted up his missing Tora medal,_ _ **"Well… Better than nothing…"**_ _He sighed, placing the medal into him as the bandages on his legs glowed before the wrappings were replaced with a brighter color, showing that he is halfway there to get his other two sets. Despite having one Cheetah and Lion, he has one set but his two other sets remain. In other words, he only has one of each while having one Zou and one Tako._

" _Um…. Sir Kazari?" One of the White Fang soldiers walked in, a girl with short orange hair and deer antlers._

 _He turned around, the White Fang soldier flinched as she could feel the anger radiating from his 'skin.'_ _ **"What is it this time?"**_ _He asked._

" _U-Um…. J-Just seeing if you're alright? Cinder…. And Adam asked me to see if you're alright?" she asked, slighting backing up until she felt something behind her, she turns around to see Kazari now behind her._

" _ **Alright you ask?"**_ _He questioned. "_ _ **And why would I be capable to feeling okay like the rest of you?"**_ _His claws extended from the armor, going over his hand. He brought it close to her face, seeing her face in the reflection of the blades._

" _J-Just making sure is all…."_

 _Kazari stared at her before he thrusted his blade to the wall, actually piercing through the bedrock. The Faunus was unharmed, only a couple of strands of her hair fell. She fell on her rear as Kazari pulled his blades out of the wall before going to his human form, giving a grin. "Even Faunus feel fear from us." He mused. "For my kind, we don't feel anything. So I suggest you watch your words more… carefully as you say."_

 _She quickly gets up, before running out, the Feline Greeed, easily hearing her wails and cries of fear as he chuckled and leaned back, looking at his hand for a moment before gripping it tightly, "I swear…. Once I have all of my medals… They will die… Starting with that hothead, while I make her sister watch as I skin her alive…." He said coldly with some amusement behind it._

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x2)**

 **Kujaku (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x1)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Kobura (x1)**

 **Kame (x1)**

 **Wani (x1)**

 **Shachi (x1)**

 **Unagi (x1)**

 **Tako (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

 **Zou (x2)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

I took a deep breath before I asked her, "Blake… w-would you like to go to the d-dance… with me?"

"It's what I do, Blake. Being there for those I care about." I responded with a smile. "I'll always be here to help. If anything, I'll be here to help you out as well."

" _Where do you think you are going?" Ankh asked the woman in the cat-burglar suit._

 **Next Time:** Extracurricular, School Dance, Infiltration

* * *

 **A/N:** Well! That is it for this chapter folks! Despite losing one of the two Tora Medals they have, they managed to get Tako, completing yet another Full Combo along with a second Zou Core. I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter as well as the fight with the Marine Combo against the Ike-Jaguar Yummy. Also, I am also looking for more Beta-Readers so if you are interested, let me know via PM. Again, I do apologize for the late update and I will see you all in the next chapter.

Also, I am gonna announce that **Kamen Rider Dark Drive: Hyperdimension Road (Kamen Rider [Drive] x Hyperdimension Neptunia V)** will be put on hiatus since I ran out of further ideas for it sadly. :(

However! I decided to make another Drive crossover that I will be working on. It is called **The Wings of Drive (Kamen Rider [Drive] x Sekirei).** Until then, stay in the shadows everyone!


	22. Chapter 21: Extracurricular,School Dance

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 21st chapter of OOO! Sorry about the late update, I have been busy with life. Plus I am still very excited for Volume 4 of RWBY on October 22nd. It makes me wonder what will happen. Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]).

I know some of you wondering why I haven't updated **Kamen Rider Dark Drive: Hyperdimension Road** , it is because since they announced Kamen Rider Ex-Aid, I thought it would be cool to do an Ex-Aid x Hyperdimension Neptunia Crossover, and so, it will be on a long hiatus or probably adandoned. I do apologize. However, I am announcing that there will be a new Drive Crossover, **The Wings of Drive (Kamen Rider Drive x Sekirei)** which will be put up very soon.

Anyways, let us begin the chapter and hopefully this story will be on TV Tropes.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

A week has past since Akira and I defeated the Yummy with Yang's help and now we had four Full Combos in the arsenal. I was currently in Combat Studies as Ankh and Goodwitch were teaching, the former rather annoyed that he still has to continue to teach us. I know he can get pissed easily if you push the wrong buttons but this is one is one of those things that annoys him: teaching a class, as usual.

Right now, Pyrrha volunteered as the role of a lone fighter while Team CRDL would fight against her. I was surprised that she would be going against four huntsmen-in-training.

The horn sounded, and Pyrrha strode out of a dark hallway, lined with dark red strips of light, into the combat arena. From the opposing side, in a similar hallway, but illuminated in a deep blue, Team CRDL strode out, weapons ready.

Russel had a pair of knives holstered on his belt, with a large spool of Dust crystals positioned as a handguard. Dove, however, simply carried a sword, simple in it's design, with a trigger located just beneath the handguard, and a groove sliding down the center of the top half of the blade.

"A reminder: the match will end when the combatant's Aura has been depleted, or if they are no longer fit for battle. You may start when you hear the bell." Ankh's voice sounded but with an annoyed tone, before he strode off into the darkness surrounding the arena. The lights dimmed, so that the arena was the only visible point in the room.

A spotlight illuminated a certain part of the floor, where Pyrrha stood, her weapons at the ready. Team CRDL charged, with the obvious intent of overwhelming Pyrrha with a four on one assault. And had they been paired with any other student, they would have succeeded. Unfortunately for them, Pyrrha Nikos was legendary for a very good reason. Moving with grace, precision and agility, Cardin's team weren't able to touch her. Every swipe she evaded, every bullet she dodged, and she was able to counter long before anybody even knew it.

Finally, it was down to just Dove and Cardin versus Pyrrha. But as Cardin swung his mace, he accidentally struck Dove, flooring him, and depleting his aura to red. Now Cardin was alone.

Cardin charged for one final assault, but Pyrrha was ready. His every move was dodged, with Pyrrha landing another strike in retaliation. Finally, Cardin swung his mace upwards in a rage, desperate to land a single hit on the Amazon. Pyrrha just tumbled away, gripped Cardin's chest and threw him skywards. Leaping after him, Pyrrha slammed the butt of her weapon into Cardin's skull, sending him to the ground with a sickening crunch.

* **DING** *

The match was over. Pyrrha's aura was still at maximum, while Cardin, Dove, Thrush, and Lark's aura had all plummeted dangerously close to zero. Professor Goodwitch walked up to Pyrrha and Cardin as the Bird Greeed followed behind the professor. I gotta admit, that was pretty awesome to watch. No wonder Pyrrha is considered the 'Invincible Girl', she is a great fighter.

"And that's the match. Well done, Ms. Nikos. With your skills, you should have no problems qualifying for the tournament." She beamed at Pyrrha, who merely turned her head and shrugged nonchalantly, as if to say that the spectacle was merely nothing special.

"Thank you, Professor."

Turning to her scroll, Goodwitch typed on it, removing CRDL's faces from the scoreboard, leaving Pyrrha's mugshot on the screen above us while Ankh finally spoke up after consuming his treat.

"Now, we have time for one more sparring match much to my annoyance," Ankh explained with a scoff, receiving a glare from Goodwitch. Seriously, I am sure that Ankh really hates being a teacher; he rather focus on gathering cell medals than teaching future huntsmen and huntresses. Professor Goodwitch then glanced over the audience, looking for a suitable candidate.

"Any volunteers?" She asked us. No one responded. After a moment, Professor Goodwitch looked towards Blake, who was busy reading a book. I glanced a look at the Faunus Kunoichi, who looked like she hasn't got much sleep for a while.

"Ms. Belladonna? You've been rather docile for the past few days. Why don't you-"

"I'll do it!"

Looking back further into the audience, I saw that the voice had come from Mercury, his hand raised eagerly. Prof. Goodwitch eyed the man with a cautious eye.

"Mercury, is it? Very well, now let's find you an opponent. We have-"

"Actually, I wanna fight… her." Mercury interrupted, pointing a finger at Pyrrha, who was clearly taken aback at this choice.

"Me?"

Goodwitch looked to Pyrrha, then back to Mercury.

"I'm sorry, but Ms. Nikos has already completed her match. I suggest you find a different-"

"Professor? It's okay. It won't be a bother." She smiled. Prof. Goodwitch sighed, and motioned for Mercury to go and prepare. For Ankh, he stared at the silver-haired student with criticizing eyes, the same look when he knew something was strange.

* * *

Five minutes later, Mercury emerged onto the arena, but he didn't seem to be carrying a visible weapon. I leaned forward, scrutinizing the silver-haired man, but nothing seemed to be standing out as a notable weapon. Nevertheless, I waited, watched as the combatants circled each other warily, never taking their eyes off of each other. Finally, after a few seconds charged with tension, Mercury leapt forward with blinding speed, swinging his legs at Pyrrha. She easily blocked his kicks, striking back with swipes of her sword, which he dodged and parried with relative ease. Pyrrha slammed her shield into Mercury, sending him skidding back, causing the ground to spark as he slid.

Finally, I understood: Mercury's weapons must have been some kind of weaponized greaves. Any kick would be enhanced by some kind of firearm. In retrospect, they were a lot like Yang's Ember Celica, just mounted on the legs.

Mercury charged again, clearly hoping for more powerful strikes. Pyrrha merely blocked some strikes, and effortlessly dodged the rest, weaving under the kicks with ease. Finally, Pyrrha retaliated, swiping with her sword in a reverse grip. But Mercury simply kicked it out of her hands, the pair watching as it embedded into the floor.

Taking the chance, Mercury reacted first. He kicked out at Pyrrha, but she was just as quick: she raised her hand, and weaved under the kick. Mercury then tried to aim for a straight push kick, but all he hit was Pyrrha's shield. The shot from his boot exploded against the metal, and he backflipped away, landing gracefully some ways away. Pyrrha dived for her sword, quickly swiping it up, and rolling to her feet.

As she lunged for her foe, he merely turned away, and said two words, which surprised everybody present.

"I forfeit."

Pyrrha stumbled out of her lunge, skidding to a halt past him. She looked at him, puzzled while Ankh still had his eyes locked on him upon hearing that.

"You… don't even want to try?" She asked. I found it weird: both their first strikes were clearly easy, trying to see what the other could do to counter. From there, that was when they really cut loose. But for Mercury to forfeit so quickly… something didn't feel right. Hell, even Ankh looked at him with narrowed eyes, the look showing that something wasn't right at all. I know Ankh, if he has that look, he knows something was up.

"What's the point? You're a world-renowned fighter. We're obviously leagues apart."

Prof. Goodwitch stepped forward, as Mercury strutted off into the darkness.

"In that case, Ms. Nikos is the winner of the match… again."

The bell sounded, and Blake jerked her head back, rubbing a tired eye. I sighed: Blake wasn't doing too great, and to be honest, it was starting to worry us. Dark shadows had appeared under her eyes, her bow had drooped slightly, and her eating habits had regressed back to barely realising that food was placed in front of her. When Akira, Yang, Ankh, and I got back from the Yummy battle, Yang told me how Blake was and I was getting worried about the ebony kunoichi. I just hope she can get some sleep eventually.

"And remember, the dance is this weekend. But you all have your first mission on Monday. I will not accept any excuses."

Upon hearing that, old memories came back of my days back on Earth. School dances wasn't my kind of thing… I wasn't all that well when it comes to asking a girl to the dance. And quite frankly, I don't know if I should go or even ask a girl to the dance. Back home, I was a nobody... someone who was left out to try to live his days for the rest of his life with no parents to watch him grow up...

For right now, I should just put that aside and just try to enjoy the upcoming weekend.

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 21: Extracurricular, School Dance, Infiltration**

Since class was over, I simply sat against a tree, staring at the clouds that were hovering in the blue sky as the wind slightly brushes my hair. However, I was dwelling in my thoughts.

From what happened in the past two weeks, it was rather interesting as well. Not only I got to see Akira fight in person, we actually got to witness him become Birth and nearly beating Uva before the Insect Greeed escaped. Plus we now have another Full Combo in the arsenal.

That being said, we now have GataKiriBa, RaToraTah, BuraKaWani, and ShaUTa. We still have Gorilla and two Zous but not the Sai Medal since Uva still has it.

However, I was worried about Blake after seeing how she was recently. After what happen after fighting that Yummy from a week ago, she hasn't got much sleep. No doubt that after Kazari mentioning that he is with the White Fang and Roman helping them along with the Feline Greeed attacking again, she was driven to find out what they are planning. Seeing that she was sleep-deprived, it pains me to see her like that.

I let out a small sigh before closing my eyes, basking the small breeze and sunlight. It was rather calm and peaceful. However, I felt someone tapping my shoulder, making me open my eyes and saw Cinder.

"Hello Enrique." She smiles at me.

"Oh, hey Cinder. What's up?" I asked.

"I would like to ask you something if you have time?" she asked, walking away as she waves her fingers to me. I blinked before getting up and followed her.

I followed Cinder before we were now in the courtyard. "So Cinder, what was it you wanted to ask me?" I asked, curious to why she wanted to see me.

The said woman turns around to look at me. "I know we recently met but I was wondering...," her smoldering eyes looked into my own before saying. "Would you like to accompany me to the dance on Sunday?" She requested.

I instantly froze to what I just heard. Not just froze, but surprised as my mind was telling me a couple of things upon hearing her request. She is asking _me_ to accompany her to the school dance tomorrow. I looked at her as she smiled. I wanted to give her my answer but a voice was telling me one thing in the back of my mind.

' _Don't…'_

It was telling me not to accept it. I don't know why but I feel like I have to agree to it. It was a strange feeling too. "I… I'm sorry Cinder but I have to decline your request…" I answered with a down look.

Cinder looked at me with a shocked and surprised expression. "Why…? Did I do something wrong?"

"I-it's not you Cinder. It's just… It's just something I'm trying to think over. I… I'm sorry," I explained with an apology. I walked to the door and went back to the hallway.

* * *

 _A glum Ruby was resting her head on her hand and staring into the distance before she's startled by someone slamming their palms on the table she's at. She looked to who did it and saw Weiss who was smiling._

" _I need you to pick a tablecloth." She slides two squares over to Ruby, both seeming to be similar shades of white._

" _Aren't they both the same?" She pointed, confused._

" _I don't even know why I asked!" She sighs in a frustrated manner._

 _Weiss walks away as Yang comes in carrying a massive sound speaker on her shoulder, which bounces her sister and the table she's moping on again to jump in the air when she drops it on the ground._

 _Yang brushes her hands as she approaches Ruby. "So, have you picked out a dress yet?"_

" _What's the point? Who cares about the dance if Blake isn't going?" She replied, gloomy._

" _Oh, don't worry; she's going," She looks over before getting exasperated. "Weiss! I thought we agreed: No doilies!"_

 _Weiss walks up to Yang, pointing in her face. "If I don't get doilies, you don't get fog machines!" The girls were then interrupted by the sound of doors opening._

 _There they saw Neptune and Sun enter and approach the three. "Your dance is gonna have fog machines?" Neptune asked._

 _Weiss steps up to him with a sweet voice, "We were thinking about it…"_

" _That's pretty cool."_

 _Sun approaches the two, acting suave to Weiss' ire. "You ladies all excited for dress-up?"_

" _Pfft... Yeah, right!" She laughed._

" _Laugh all you want. I'll be turning heads tomorrow night!" Yang said with a glint in her eyes._

 _Weiss took notice of the choice of clothing that the two guys were wearing. "What are you two gonna be wearing?"_

" _Uuhhh... this?" The monkey Faunus gestures to his current shirtless outfit._

 _Neptune steps up and holds a hand in front of his friend's face. "Ignore him for he knows not what he says." he says to the four._

 _Sun knocks Neptune's hand away from his face, "Hey, I may have moved to Mistral, but I grew up in Vacuo. It's not exactly a shirt-and-tie kind of place."_

" _Yeah, we noticed," Yang said, mirroring Ruby and Weiss' looks of being told something extremely obvious._

 _Upon the quiet atmosphere, the money Faunus decided to speak up as he rubs the back of his head, before asking the girls, "Soooo... what does Blake think of all this? She still being all, y'know... Blake-y?"_

" _Obviously," Weiss said like it was obvious, turning away and crosses her arms in disapproval._

" _I still can't think of a way to change her mind," the red-hooded girl sighed._

" _Guys," Ruby, Weiss, Neptune, and Sun looks at her as she starts walking out. "Trust me; Blake will be at the dance tomorrow." She then looked at Sun and Neptune with a grin. "Also Sun, Neptune get Enrique."_

 _The said two looked at each and knew what she meant. They nodded with grins of their own before leaving, in search to find the black-haired huntsman-in-training._

 _Later, with Blake herself who was sitting at one of the library tables with a holographic screen in front of her. She was obviously more sleep-deprived than ever, barely focusing on what she's seeing... until a small, bright red light appears on the screen. Moving up and down, Blake's eyes follow it down to her hand, then disappears entirely. She looks behind herself, obviously irritated, but no one walking among the tables is her culprit._

 _Turning back to the computer, she starts typing on the beeping keyboard before the laser dot appears on her hand briefly, prompting her to look around again and still find no one. The red point shows up on the screen, moving around in circles until Blake scowls and pounds her fists on the table. She stands up from her chair and finds the light on the floor, following it blindly through shelves of books until both the dot and its pursuer turn the corner, only for Blake to bump, shocked and shaken out of her more "animal" instincts, into… Yang holding a laser pointer._

 _Yang was waving with her left hand as her right holds the laser pointer, "He-lloooo!~" she said in a sing-song manner._

" _What are you...?" Blake was interrupted when Yang grabs her arm._

" _We need to talk." She informed and with that, amid Blake's single cry of surprise, Yang whisks her partner out of the library._

* * *

I was laying on the rooftop, gazing at the moving clouds as the wind slightly brushing my hair. I was still surprised that Cinder asked me to the dance but I rejected it. Don't get me wrong, any guy would accept due to her looks but me… it felt strange when she asked me that. A feeling that told me to not accept it, I just don't know what kind of feeling it was.

Ankh on the other hand was in the courtyard, perched on the same tree like always since he doesn't want to be involved with anything that has to do with the school dance.

I heaved a sigh before reaching for the locket that was hanging on my shirt. I pressed the switch, revealing the old family photo again as I stare at it. This made me let out a small smile before I closed it and go back to gazing at the sky. However, my relaxation was interrupted when two shadows loomed over me, causing me to raise my head a bit and saw Sun and Neptune.

"Oh, hey you two." I noticed. "What's up?"

"We need to talk," Sun said.

I got up before looking at the two. "What do you mean?"

"Dude, you gotta have to have a date to the dance," Neptune informed.

"Look guys, I know that the dance is in a couple of days but I don't know if I should go with a date." I responded.

"So you're going to just go stag?"

"Well…" I rubbed the back of my head, trying to find the right answer to his question. Before I can give them my answer, the two grab me my arms. "Hey, what the hell!?"

"We are gonna help you get a date to the dance." Sun said with a grin. "Ain't that right Neptune?"

"Definitely. Let's take him to see Blake."

"You guys planned this didn't you?" I said with an annoyed look.

"Yang was in on it too." Sun answered. This made my eyebrow twitch in annoyance from hearing his answer. I swear that Sun and Neptune are like Zack. Sun being the very laidback and casual side of Zack while Neptune is the flirting, cool, and carefree side.

Two peas in a pod.

The two lead me out of the rooftop to take me to see Blake. By take, I mean they are dragging me along to see her.

* * *

" _Yang, if you're going to tell me to stop, you may as well save your breath." Blake informed._

 _Yang sits on the central desk of the empty classroom, cross-legged as the orange light shining across her calm features. "I don't want you to stop; I want you to slow down." She said, worried about her._

 _Blake was continuing to pace with arms crossed, still irritated. "I don't have the luxury to slow down." She shot back, irritated._

" _It's not a luxury; it's a necessity."_

" _The 'necessity' is stopping Torchwick."_

" _And we're going to. But first you have to sit down and listen to what I have to say." She pats the part of the desk across from her., gesturing her to sit._

 _Blake looks away for a moment until she relents and drapes her legs over the desk's edge. "Fine." She muttered._

" _Ruby and I grew up in Patch, an island off the coast of Vale. Our parents were Huntsmen. Our dad taught at Signal, and our mom took on missions around the kingdom. Her name was Summer Rose, and she was, like... Super-Mom: Baker of cookies and slayer of giant monsters. And then... one day she left for a mission and never came back," she looks down as she says this, and Blake looks sorry for her. "It was tough. Ruby was really torn up, but... I think she was still too young to really get what was going on, y'know? And my dad just kind of... shut down. It wasn't long before I learned why. Summer wasn't the first love he lost; she was the second. The first... was my mom."_

 _Blake looks amazed at this information as Yang keeps talking. "He wouldn't tell me everything, but I learned that the two of them had been on a team together with Summer and Qrow, and that she'd left me with him right after I was born. No one had seen her since."_

" _Why did she leave you?"_

 _Yang sighs, then turns to the chalkboard. "That question... Why?" She repeated as she gets off the desk and walks to the chalkboard, picking up a piece of chalk. "I didn't know an answer, but I was determined to find out. It was all I thought about. I would ask anyone I could about what they knew about her."_

" _Then, one day, I found something. What I thought was a clue that could lead me to answers, or maybe even my mother." she remembered the photo found in the smashed picture frame._

" _I waited for Dad to leave the house, put Ruby in a wagon, and headed out. I must've walked for hours. I had cuts and bruises, I was totally exhausted, but I wasn't gonna let anything stop me. When we finally got there, I could barely stand, but I didn't care; I had made it. And then I saw them. Those burning red eyes…" She remembered the Grimm, looking at her and her little sister when they were little._

" _There we were: A toddler sleeping in the back of a wagon and a stupid girl too exhausted to even cry for help. We might as well have been served on a silver platter. But, as luck would have it, our uncle along with Mr. Akira showed up just in time." She remembered her Uncle Qrow slicing two Beowolves in half and Akira blasting away a couple before tending to her wounds. "My stubbornness should've gotten us killed that night."_

" _Yang... I'm sorry that happened to you, and I understand what you're trying to tell me, but this is different." She argued. "I'm not a child, and this isn't just a search for answers! I can't just-"_

 _Yang was still facing the board, fists clenching, feeling upset that Blake won't give up. "I told you: I'm not telling you to stop! I haven't! To this day, I still want to know what happened to my mother and why she left me, but I will never let that search control me." She explained. "We're going to find the answers we're looking for, Blake. But if we destroy ourselves in the process, what good are we?"_

" _You don't understand! I'm the only one who can do this!" She yelled._

" _No, you don't understand!" She turns around sharply to reveal her now red eyes and the sound of flames can be heard. "If Roman Torchwick or Kazari walked through that door, what would you do" she questioned._

" _I'd fight them!"_

" _You'd lose!" She pushes Blake away._

" _I can stop them!" She repeated, tiredly tries to do the same to Yang, but she doesn't even budge._

" _You can't even stop me!" She pushes Blake again, knocking her to land on the desk. Yang, still angry-eyed, walks toward Blake as she gets up, but then does the unexpected and embraces her in a hug, her eyes going back to their normal lilac color._

" _I'm not asking you to stop. Just please, get some rest." She pulls back to look at her partner. "Not just for you, but for the people you care about." She steps away and starts walking past the startled Blake, who turns when she says over her shoulder. "And I'm sure a certain someone will ask you to the dance." She teased before leaving the room._

* * *

I was still getting dragged by Sun and Neptune as we were now in the hallway. When Ankh saw me getting dragged by the two, he was laughing in amusement upon seeing what was going on.

I sighed until we came to a stop and saw Yang walking towards us. "Hey Enrique," she grinned. "Looks like you got dragged along for the ride."

I had the urge to facepalm upon her pun. Seriously, her puns were bad not to be mean or anything.

"Where's Blake?" Sun asked.

"She's in the classroom. I had to talk to her about something to help her not push herself upon what happened at the highway." She nodded, jabbing her thumb at the door across from us.

"Alright," Neptune nodded as he and the monkey Faunus drag me towards the door. Once we made it to the door, they released their grips on me and motioned me to enter the room.

I looked at them with an annoyed look before facing the door. I swallowed a lump in my throat as I felt very nervous. This is the _very_ first time that I will ever be asking a girl out to a dance. "I'm not sure that I can do this…" I said to the two.

"Don't chicken out on this," Sun said.

"Sun's right. We don't want a guy like you go stag on a dance." Neptune agreed. "Besides you got this."

Hearing this made me look at the two. They really are good guys to hang out with. Seeing the two, it was like seeing Zack helping me out back in high school. "I… I guess you're right." I muttered.

"Go for it," the two cheered.

Letting out a sigh, I reached for the doorknob before opening the door. There stood Blake as she was looking at the chalkboard. I saw the dark circles under her eyes, showing that she really didn't get any sleep.

It made me worried before when I first noticed it the day after fighting the Yummy. But after hearing that Yang gave her words of advice, I'm sure she can get sleep soon. "Hey Blake," I called out.

The said girl turned her head and saw me. "How are you feeling?" I asked.

"I'm..." Blake wanted to say she was fine. "A bit tired."

"You look like you haven't had a decent night of sleep," I studied her features.

"I could use a nap."

"A catnap?" I joked awkwardly. She gave a deadpan stare upon the joke. "Sorry that was stupid of me to say," I responded nervously.

She sighed before asking, "Is there something you need?"

I gulped. "W-Well…" I rubbed the back of my head. "There is something I wanted to ask you…" Now I became very nervous as she looked at me, waiting for my question. I took a deep breath before I asked her, "Blake… w-would you like to go to the d-dance… with me?"

Blake became a bit startled from my request as she blushes. "I.. I'll think about it," she answered.

Hearing this made me relax a bit. "I'll wait for you," I responded before heading to the exit. "You should get some rest. Everyone was worried about you… including me."

I left the classroom before I met up with Sun and Neptune. "So? What did she say?" Sun asked.

"She will think about it," I replied. "You guys owe me for dragging me to talk to her." I walked past the two, heading back to my dorm to get some sleep.

With the two, they grinned and did a hi-five. "Step 1, done." Neptune said.

* * *

After a couple of days, I was spending most of my time relaxing for a bit until it was almost time for the school dance. Luckily there was no class today either but I was nervous. Reason? This was the first school dance I have ever gone to.

Sure my dad did give advice back when I was little then since he thought it might make me lucky but I have never been to a school dance at all. I simply ignored the previous ones before but this dance, this might be something I should go to.

"First time to a dance?" A familiar voice asked.

I turned my head and saw Akira, arms crossed as he was leaning against the wall.

"Y-yeah…" I admitted. "Never had much of a normal school life in the past. Before Beacon, I… was enrolled in a normal school."

He gave me a pat on the shoulder. "It will be fine, just have fun at the dance." He glanced a look at Ankh who was on his Scroll. "Anko really has to lighten up his mood too."

"It's Ankh!" The Bird Greeed corrected in irritation. He really hates being called Anko.

"Just give him time," I waved off as I opened the closet. I was trying to find out what to wear until I remembered that suit that Kougami gave me when we had to get the BuraKaWani Cores. I reached to the far left of the closet before pulling out the suit.

"Nice suit," Akira whistled.

I chuckled before I made the decision to wear it for the dance. I went to the bathroom and get myself cleaned up. Once I was finished, I put on the suit and adjusted the tie a bit along with the cuffs.

I looked at myself in the mirror for a moment before I let out a small smile and walked out of the bathroom.

"Now _that_ will attract the ladies." A voice commented.

I darted my head to the door and saw Neptune and Sun, who was finally wearing a dress shirt and a tie for once. At least he is wearing something that is buttoned up than having an opened shirt like before.

"Where did you get that suit?" Sun asked.

"Something I got from Kougami a while back," I replied. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Just making sure if you weren't gonna chicken out," Neptune answered.

I sighed before I looked at Akira who was surprisingly fast asleep in his sleeping bag. How did he get there so quickly? I looked at ANkh who just waved off. "Just go to that stupid dance." Ankh said.

"Try not to kill Akira in the meantime, Ankh." I informed before leaving the dorm room.

After a bit of a small walk, the three of us made it to the ballroom. Everyone was enjoying there time as I also noticed Ruby wearing a red dress with black lace, belt, and pumps while Yang was wearing a short, white dress with black heels.

I looked at my two pals and said, "You guys go on ahead. I'll wait here for Blake."

"Alright," Sun nodded before he and Neptune entered the ballroom.

I watched as students were entering the ballroom while I waited by the entrance. Looking up at the shattered moon, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sight of the moonlight shining the night sky. It was somewhat a nice sight to my opinion.

After 5 minutes of waiting, I looked back at the ballroom and saw most students were already inside, enjoying there time. "I guess Blake isn't coming to the dance after all…" I muttered.

I guess it was better to be back at the dorm than going to a school dance. It was always like this for me, not going to a dance.

I turned around and stepped out of the ballroom with my hands in my pockets. When I looked up, I stopped mid step.

There stood Blake and I have to say this, she is very beautiful. She was wearing a black dress and dark heels.

"Leaving already?" Blake asked.

Hearing her voice finally made me get out of my trance upon seeing her. "You changed your bow," I said as I saw the sequins on her bow. Against the black fabric of the bow, they looked like stars in the night sky. It only added more flare to her beauty.

And her dress. Wow, I never thought I'd ever see her in a dress. It was black, like her hair.

She hooked her arm with mine and turned us back to the ballroom. "Come on."

I nodded before we walked back into the ballroom. I took notice of Yang, Sun, and Neptune giving a thumbs up to me, a grin plastered on their faces. I sweatdropped before looking at Blake. I took a deep breath and decided to act like a gentleman. "May I have this dance?" I asked with my hand out to her, giving her a small smile.

She returned it with a small smile of her own before she got hold of my hand. I gently brought her close as I place my right hand on her waist while holding her right hand in my left while Blake rested her left hand on my shoulder. Her soft hand felt warm, the same feeling when I shook her hand in the previous semester. The music that was playing was soft and slow, very soothing really. We then followed each other's lead, swaying to the music.

It was actually nice to dance with her. It felt peaceful, which is what we both needed after our previous battles against the Greeed and Yummies.

"Where did you learn to dance?" Blake asked.

"Well… my dad taught me," I answered, continuing with the movement. "He may have been a man with beliefs to protect people as well as making jokes but he is also the type to teach his own son to dance. He thought it would be good for me to learn a bit if I ever asked a girl out to a dance to this very day."

She giggled lightly as we continue to dance. As our dance continues, I heard Blake's voice again. "Enrique…?"

"Yes, Blake?"

"What do you believe in when it comes to protecting people…?" She asked. "You mentioned that your father had his beliefs. It makes me wonder if it is the same for you."

"My belief to protect people…" I repeated. "It's because of the people I meet. Every time I talk to them, it gives me another reason to help them hold what they cherish and not let go what they have. Protecting people is something that can be a promise or a task. I reach out to save them from losing what they have." I continued. "To me, I protect my friends because they mean a lot to me. I protect people not as a task, but as a promise to reach out and be there for them. Just like you, Blake. No matter what bothers you, I'll be there to reach out to help you."

She felt touched upon my speech from what I can see in her eyes. "Thank you," she thanked with a smile.

I smiled upon her words. "It's what I do, Blake. Being there for those I care about." I responded with a smile. "I'll always be here to help. If anything, I'll be here to help you out as well."

By sudden surprise, Blake slowly and gently rested her head on my shoulder, causing my heart to race more. "Can-Can we stay like this for a little…?" She asked quietly. Not only that, I noticed her blushing.

A blush crept up my cheeks before letting out a smile. "Sure, why not." I replied as we continue our peaceful dance. I wonder why she is blushing?

More importantly what is this that I'm feeling?

* * *

 _Blake was in her own thoughts, her mind was racing to figure out why she was blushing again. She was no stranger to the concept of love, or even sexual attraction, but to her it was a foreign thought. She had done such horrendous things while in the White Fang, and despite having come to terms with those actions, Enrique having helped her in that endeavor, she used to think that she wasn't worthy of it. She who ran from her precious life. She who ran from who and what she was. She who was still trying to run from that life._

 _In Blake's mind, she didn't deserve the happiness and joy that came with falling in love, let alone falling in love with one Enrique Alderete who seemed to be a pillar for all things good. While they shared some similarities, mainly their backgrounds as orphans, survivors, they were also opposites. She had run from her responsibilities and tried to distance herself from that life, never wanting to get any closer to others in a bid to save herself._

 _The dark-haired swordsman however takes his steps, growing up at a young age with no father then eventually growing up with no family; an orphan who stood strong after everything he endured and lost even with the sadness and pain that he goes through. Not only that, but he was the type of person to do what he thought was right and reach out to those who are in need of help. He did his best as he continues his life without running away. Most of all, he seemed to have a bit of hero complex, coming to the aid of any and all who needed it, whether they wanted it or not._

 _Case in point, Enrique helped her accept for who she is. He reached his hand out to her, helping her see that she is herself. He helped her see that she shouldn't run away anymore._

 _As Blake pondered on all this, something clicked. The feelings of jealousy that surfaced anytime she found him talking to Cinder or Yang who often teases him. The unease she felt every time she saw either one of the two talk to him. The feeling of warmth she got anytime she was near him. It all finally clicked._

 _'I'm in love with him...' She finally realized. Never before she thought she would fall in love again ever since she left_ him _. This person, this young man in front of her was the person she is falling for ever since the incident at the docks._

 _It felt… nice._

 _Her thoughts were interrupted when someone tapped her shoulder._

* * *

"Mind if I cut in?" Cinder asked Blake and me.

Cinder was wearing an elegant black dress as she wore detached sleeve-like gloves, exposing her shoulders. I held back a blush from seeing Cinder's dress. She looked absolutely breathtaking.

I winced as I felt Blake's fingers dig into me, like she wasn't willing to let me go. I looked at Blake for a moment then at Cinder, "Hey, Cinder. Since you're here, guess you managed to find a date, huh?"

The look she gave me was predatory as she answered, "Oh, I've had been asked but I declined them all. I actually came hoping to see you here."

"Uh…" I started, trying to find the right response before speaking up again. "Well… I am here with Blake."

"Only one dance. That's all I ask," Cinder smiled.

Blake didn't want to be rude, but at the same time she didn't want to let me go to dance with another girl. Her frown deepened before she finally spoke.

"Just one dance," Blake allowed.

"Well, it seems your date doesn't mind," Cinder said as she raised her hand. "Shall we?"

I took Cinder's hand and she led me towards the dance floor. I looked over to Blake who had her arms crossed.

* * *

 _With Blake, she walked to her friend Yang who was by the podium. The blonde took notice of her as the cat Faunus was looking at the dance floor. It seems her plan of getting Enrique to ask Blake to the dance worked._

" _I thought you'd be happy to come with Enrique," Yang smiled before noticing Blake glaring at something. "What are you glaring at?" Blake pointed at the dance floor and Yang realized. "Oh, I see."_

 _Yang saw what Blake was glaring at. It was Cinder dancing with Enrique. She looked at Blake once more, studying her features before a cheeky grin was shown. "Are you jealous?" She asked._

 _Blake lightly blushed before saying, "I-I'm not jealous." She denied._

" _Whatever you say, Blake." Yang grinned. She knew that Blake has a crush on the young Multi-King. Ever since the fight at the docks last semester, it was clear as day to see that Blake has a crush on Enrique since then. Others noticed it as well and they knew she was into him._

 _Was she happy that Blake found someone? Yeah. But she also envied Blake. But she was able to get over it, and was happy that her friend was able to fall for him, even if she doesn't admit it yet. Sure she developed a crush on him before._

 _Knowing that young Rider, he was kind, understanding, and reach out to others. She saw how Ruby was towards him along with the Rider himself towards Ruby. Being good friends, his eyes showed a familiar look whenever her little sister smiles. It reminded him of someone he knew._

 _And as days went by since, she looked at him in a different way. She went on from teasing him to sometimes flirting with him. And in one thought, she was thinking of telling him her feelings. But after the way she saw Blake look at him, she decided that wasn't the best course. And in that time, the crush of hers just disappeared. She knew that Enrique was starting to fall in love with her partner and it was best for the two to be together._

 _It was painful and heartbreaking at first but now, now she was happy for Blake. 'I'm happy for you Blake.' She thought happily._

* * *

With Cinder and I, we were continuing our dance as Cinder's eyes were looking into my own.

"How is your time in Beacon so far?" I asked.

"It's nice so far," she mused. "Although I never thought I would meet interesting people during my stay."

"Interesting people? Like who?" I asked, curious.

"Oh, like you for example." She answered with a grin.

"Me?" I blinked, making her smile. "How am I interesting?"

She gave a mysterious smile, not giving a verbal answer, like it was something only she would know and would gladly keep a secret. I wonder why?

"And Enrique, I apologize for my… advance towards you a week ago."

"I-It's alright," I waved off as we continued to dance. "It was confusing to be honest."

I notice her turn her head to the time. "I should go." She informed. "Thank you for the dance though, Enrique."

"Your welcome," I responded.

Cinder walked away as Blake approached me, happy that she left. I reached out my hand to the kunoichi, giving her a smile.

She got hold of my hand as the both of us continue our dance together. Blake seemed happy that Cinder walked away and right now it was just the two of us and the music… it felt nice really. Maybe… it isn't so bad being in this school dance with Blake.

* * *

 _As Cinder began her task, she knew that the kunoichi she met earlier has fallen for him. It would also appear that the young Multi-King was beginning to fall for her as well._

 _However, for Cinder, she needs to make sure it doesn't happen if she were to have him be part of her cause._

 _She gets what she wants one way or another._

 _Right now, she was making her way to the Cross Continental Transmit System Tower to get what she needed. She was now wearing a black infiltration outfit, which she had previously sewn together. The outfit consists of a sleeveless jacket, long gloves, stiletto heel boots, a black glass mask, and several straps with containers of powdered dust lined across her pants._

 _When she made it to the location, she stealthily approaches an armed guard before she knife-hands the back of his head, rendering him unconscious. She then drags him behind some bushes before entering the building._

 _The moment she entered, some of the guards took notice of her as she approaches. "Excuse me, no one's allowed in this area." The guard informed. However, Cinder continues her approach, making the guard now on alert. "Stop!"_

 _The soldier had no choice but to open fire when Cinder does not heed his warning. However, she manages to overpower him by attacking him before using his gun to take out another soldier that was approaching. She then throws him against the handrail as two more soldiers rush towards her. Cinder's suit glows a bright orange before forging a pair of black blades from fire Dust and trounces the two guards._

 _In the elevator, two of the guards were looking over a Scroll. "Hey, man, do you know the Wi-fi password?" He asked._

 _"It's Beacon, but replace the E with a 3 and add a pound symbol to the end." The guard answered._

 _Once the elevator doors opened up to show Cinder, one of the guards notices the fallen men outside. Both guards grow apprehensive as Cinder casually walks onto the elevator, the doors closing as she turns around with thrashing sounds being heard outside of the elevator. After a couple of minutes, the elevator opens as Cinder was examining the scroll while the two guards were knocked out. "Oh! That's handy." She commented. She pockets the scroll and walks out of the elevator and towards the control consoles._

 _"A party guest is leaving" Emerald informed via ear-bud._

 _"Which one?" Cinder sighed._

 _"Ironwood."_

 _"I guess the general's had enough fun for one night." Mercury added on. "Should we intervene?"_

 _Cinder placed in the Scroll as the monitors lit up. "No, we're done here." As she starts to walk away, she notices the elevator doors opening, revealing Ruby and the Bird Greeed Ankh. Ruby steps out of the elevator slowly, brandishing her weapon as Ankh follows._

" _Hello?" Ruby stumbles due to her high-heeled shoes. "Is anyone there? Hello?"_

 _Ankh slowly looked around before closing his eyes. Cinder was wondering why he closed his eyes before her question was answered. "You better walk out of that hiding spot. I know you are here." He informed._

 _Cinder had an amused look. The Bird Greeed was able to detect where she was. Deciding to make her appearance known, she walked out of the hiding spot now facing the two._

" _Where do you think you are going?" Ankh asked the woman in the cat-burglar suit._

 _The woman looked at the Bird Greeed who has his grip on his weapon while the other was his Greeed Arm. She remembered how she heard that he teaches Enrique and now seeing him more closely, it will get interesting._

" _Excuse me? You know, it's not a masquerade party, so why don't you take off that-!"_

 _Cinder, in her disguise, produces a container of Ice Dust and send shards flying towards the two, making Ankh push Ruby out of the way before he used his arm to block the attacks._

 _Cinder took notice that none of the Dust affecting his red arm, as if it doesn't work. Deciding to change her attack, her suit glowed a bright orange and produced a fire bow and three arrows aimed at the two. While Ruby dodged the attack, Ankh charged forward at the intruder._

 _He brought his sword up, the woman blocking the attack. As their weapons locked, Ankh stare right into her eyes, as if he was staring into her own soul once again. His eyes widen a bit before a smug grin was shown. "You hold_ that _power don't you?" Ankh grinned. "And here I thought they were mere fairy tales."_

 _Cinder's eyes narrowed at Ankh. The Bird Greeed sensed half of the power she stole years ago. She narrowed her eyes at her opponent before she kicked him back, prompting him to jump away the last second. Ruby swings her Crescent Rose at her opponent, only for the latter to avoid the attack._

 _The fight continued until it is interrupted by the appearance of Ironwood on the nearby elevator, making Ankh and Ruby notice. Ruby is visibly glad to see him until she notices that the intruder has disappeared._

 _Ankh on the other hand pointed at the direction the intruder fled, making Ironwood nod. "I believe you two should tell us what happened." He said, hiding the anger knowing that whoever the two fought, infiltrated the CCT. He may despise the Bird Greeed but from what he saw the last minute, Ankh was able to fend off against the intruder._

 _In the hallway, Cinder discards two bracelets and her mask to change from her stealth suit into the black dress and enters the dance. Two guards following her crush the bracelets underfoot and are visibly confused at the sight of the crowded dance hall._

 _As she walks in the dance, she noticed her person of interest continuing his dance with a certain kunoichi. Seeing the two smile as they dance. She has to find a way to keep him away from her, make him work for her._

 _It's only a matter of time before the next phase to the plan begins. Once that phase begins, she_ will _make him work for her. Make him belong to her._

* * *

Blake and I continued our dance as it was near midnight. I couldn't help but smile upon seeing how happy Blake looks as we dance. I turned my head a bit and saw my friends enjoying their time as well. However I took notice of Jaune wearing a dress.

A dress.

I had to hold back the urge to laugh upon seeing the way Jaune is dressed. If only I brought my Scroll with me but I left it at the dorm with Akira and Ankh.

After a little while longer, my thoughts were interrupted when I heard a chime go off. I saw the time and it showed that it was midnight. Wow, I never thought I would be in a school dance for that long.

I have to admit though, Yang, Ruby, and Weiss did a good job setting up the dance. For Sun and Neptune, I guess I should thank them. The two gave me _some_ motivation to ask Blake to the dance.

They really are good friends to hang out with. I then took notice of students beginning to leave the ballroom, showing that it's time to end the dance and head back to our dorms.

"Hey Blake, you think we should call it a night?" I asked. "The dance is almost over since most of the others are leaving."

"Right, let's go. Do you mind walking me back my dorm room?"

I nodded before we made our way out of the ballroom.

We walked together as we were making our way to the hall that leads to our dorms. As we were walking, I decided to speak up. "It was a nice time," I said.

She let out a smile of her own. "It was," she agreed. "I… enjoyed the fun we had at the dance."

I smiled, happy to hear she enjoyed her time at the dance. We took notice that we were by our dorms. "Well I guess this is our stop. I had fun Blake." I said. "And I'm glad you enjoyed your time at the dance. Good night."

Before I could head to my dorm, Blake got close to me before she did one thing that caught me by total surprise.

She kissed me on the cheek and said with a blush, "Good night."

The Faunus kunoichi entered her dorm as I was left with no words to say. When she closed the door to her dorm, I slowly placed my hand on the spot Blake kissed. The kiss was more different than Cinder's. The kiss Blake gave me made my heart race uncontrollably, as if it was about to burst.

Just what is this that I'm feeling…?

I shook my head, regaining my senses before I went to my dorm to call it a night.

* * *

 _Blake saw that her teammates were asleep as she entered the room. She decided to change into her yukata sleepwear before going to her bunk. She began to think over what she just did before entering the dorm. She just kissed Enrique on the cheek. She couldn't get over what she did. Just remembering it, her blush deepens from the memory of the sensation._

 _His skin was soft even warm at the touch. She finally realized she was in love with him and now her heart was racing more after she kissed him on the cheek. She wanted to deny the feeling but she couldn't._

" _Well, wasn't that smooth?" Replied a voice, Blake turning to see a grinning Yang Xiao Long. "Seems to me that you were lying when you said you didn't have something for him." She chuckled._

 _Blake looked away, "Y-You saw that…?" she asked her partner._

" _Saw it, heard it, felt it." she chuckled, tapping her friends shoulder. "Now, you just gotta tell him then you two can have some 'real fun' together." She smirked._

 _Just thinking of what she meant brought a heavy blush to the kunoichi's cheeks. "Yang w-why would you think that?" she questioned._

" _What? Don't you want to feel 'more' of him?" She grinned, enjoying teasing her. Blake remained quiet and ignored her, not wanting to listen to more of her teasing. "Still, I still believe you should tell him. Seems Cinder also wants a piece of him."_

 _Blake glared at her partner who went to sleep. She looked at the wall, as she shuffled a bit before she went to sleep._

* * *

 _With Cinder, she was going over the list she had. She went over the file about the young man along with his mentor Ankh. Ankh's combat was far beyond any known huntsmen and his arm was the same arm that Kazari mentioned. The Bird Greeed, Ankh. Hearing how the Greeed were considered the first Huntsmen to exist, it shows that Enrique is learning quick by Ankh every day he trains._

 _She pressed a few keys, looking over anything about him and saw videos involving his fighting. Each one showed him fighting in different sets of armor against the Yummies. Creating clones equivalent to an army, harnessing the power of the sun, having the power of gravity in his own hands, able to heal and defend against the greatest attacks, to even becoming water. He was literally a one man army with this… and she liked it._

" _Hmm… Still…. Where to start? And how shall I get him to join me?" she pondered. But a devious grin appears on her lips. "I guess I'll just have to turn up my charm more on him again."_

 _One thing is for sure, she must have him join her side before that kunoichi confesses her feelings to him._

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x2)**

 **Kujaku (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x1)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Kobura (x1)**

 **Kame (x1)**

 **Wani (x1)**

 **Shachi (x1)**

 **Unagi (x1)**

 **Tako (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

 **Zou (x2)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"This is…" I got out as Kougami handed me a familiar red Core Medal.

"ZWEI!" Ruby cried joyfully, scooping up the canine into her arms and beginning to cuddle with it like it was her firstborn.

"Why would you give them to me?" The Bird Greeed asked.

 **Next Time:** Condor Medal,Zwei, Field Trip

* * *

 **A/N:** Well! It's official folks! This is the start of the Lost Feeling that will return to him. What Lost Feeling you ask? You all might know what it is. And the pairing is indeed OC x Blake. If you guys know any pairing names for the two, feel free to put it in the review or via PM. Don't forget to check out my other stories and I will see you all later.

Let's hope this story does get shown in TV Tropes. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	23. Chapter 22: Condor Medal,Zwei,Field Trip

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 22nd chapter of OOO! Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]).

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

A day has passed since the dance, I was left in my thoughts upon yesterday. The dance was nice and all but it left me with the strange feeling I have been feeling for a while now ever since the one thing that Blake did: the kiss on the cheek.

I placed my hand over the spot once again, the feeling in my heart racing slightly upon the memory. "What is this feeling…?" I muttered to myself.

When we danced, it was like it was just the two of us and the music. Nothing else seemed to matter. I looked into her amber eyes and also how she smiled. She really did have a lovely smile. It was the kind of smile she wore when reading a good book.

And just remembering that time, made my heart race more. I shook my head, keeping myself together as I try to calm myself down. After a couple of minutes, my heart slowly went to its normal pace as I took a deep breath.

"Maybe some training can help me clear my head…" I muttered to myself before heading to the training arena to practice my skills again.

When I made it there, I got Medajalibur out of its sheath as I got into a fighting stance. I took a couple of deep breaths before doing a few practice swings, pretending I was striking something.

"Your stance is off…." A familiar voice rang behind me.

I looked back to see Pyrrha standing there with a soft smile on her face.

"Oh hey, Pyrrha, surprised to see you here," I responded. "I'm just practicing to clear my head."

"Want a sparring partner?" she offered.

Hearing this made me look at her. Usually, I sparred with Blake or Cinder but hearing this would be nice to have another partner to spar with. "Sure why not," I accepted.

She smiled, brandishing her spear and shield as she got into a stance, ready for me to start it up.

I got into my stance as well as the both of us stare down at each other. One thing I recall about Pyrrha is that she is considered the 'Unstoppable Girl' and with her Semblance it makes her an opponent that you would have trouble fighting against.

Pyrrha smirked as she quickly rushed me, already in her weapons length as she lunged her spear, luckily I blocked int time as I only skidded back. She took that opportunity to send a few rounds at me, to keep me on my toes and not focusing on her.

I grimaced as I stepped away from the rounds she fired as a few problems the rounds lowered my Aura a bit. I raised my head to see her charge towards me in which I quickly raised my sword but when she got close, I felt the position of the blade move a few centimeters to the right. "Crap," I muttered before she delivered a hit to my chest with her shield.

And like that, the spar ended quickly. Pyrrha chuckled, holding out her hand to me. "You alright? Sorry about that…. Kinda got carried away." she apologized.

"I'm okay," I groaned before grabbing hold of her hand as she helped me up. "And it's alright, it's just a spar after all," I assured.

She smiles and nods, "Ready to go again then?"

I smiled, "Sure."

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 22: Condor Medal, Zwei, Field Trip**

After training once again with the Medajalibur a spar against Pyrrha, I decided to head to the library to read some books to pass the time. Just as I turned the corner, I saw Blake as she was walking in the hallway. "Hey Blake," I called out as I approach her. However, when I got close, I noticed the bruise on Blake's cheek.

"Are you OK?" I asked.

"Oh, this? It's nothing," she shook her head.

"What happened?"

Blake was hesitant for a moment before she replied, "Ruby found my Ninjas of Love book and..."

* * *

 _Flashback…_

 _Blake was frantically searching for her book in the bed when she found it missing. "Where is it?!" She gets up and turns left with an embarrassed face to Ruby standing there with "Ninjas of Love" in her arm and a growling grimace. She hesitantly points at the novel. "Ruby, is that my book?"_

" _THIS IS FILTH! FIIIILTH!"_

 _With a sudden twirl, she smacks Blake across the floor into her bed using her own sordid literature before storming off._

 _Blake raises one arm as she asks, "Can... Can I have my book back?"_

" _Later!" She answered before leaving._

* * *

"Did she give it back?"

"She said she'll give it back to me later."

"Don't tell me she is gonna read it," I mentally panicked. When I first saw Blake read it, I was wondering what it was and when I found out, I didn't read a single book for nearly a month.

"I think she already has. Would explain her reaction."

"Might wanna make sure Yang doesn't know since she cares about Ruby," I reminded. Blake paled. No doubt that if Yang found it, she would be beyond angry. Knowing how it is for family, it can be very troubling when it comes to a situation like this. "Still, Blake why do you read that kind of book anyway?"

She blushed, turning away from me, "I-I…. rather not say anything…."

I rubbed the bridge of my nose before looking at her. "Well, I'll be heading to the library." I smiled. "Try not to let Ruby find it again and not let others know you read those kinds of books."

"O-Okay…"

I waved before heading to the library and once I got there, I grabbed a few books that caught my interest before sitting at a table to read. I enjoy reading since it was one of those things that get me interested.

"Pardon me, Enrique?" I turned to see Glynda walking up towards me."Ozpin would like to speak with you."

I blinked before closing the book I was currently reading before getting up from the chair. I wonder why Ozpin wants to see me?

Curious as I was, I followed the professor to the Headmaster's office to see him as I entered the elevator.

When I exited the elevator, I saw not only Professor Ozpin but also Kougami and Felix. "You wanted to see me Professor Ozpin?" I asked.

"Yes, I called you up here because there is something that Kougami wanted to give you," Ozpin answered, nodding to Kougami. The head of the Kougami Foundation had a grin as he presented a tiny box and handed it to me.

Wondering what it was, I removed the tiny ribbon and lifted the top, only to be greeted with something that caught me by total surprise.

"This is…" I got out as I was staring at a familiar red Core Medal. The Core Medal in question had the image of a condor.

It was one of Ankh's, the Condor Medal

"Consider it a reward for all your help!"

I looked up at the man with a surprised look, "How did you even get this Core?"

"Now that is a secret," He grinned. "I have also learned from Ozpin that you possess nearly all of the Full Combos."

I slowly nodded in confirmation, "Y-Yeah… GataKiriba the Strongest Combo, RaToraTah the Scorching Combo, BuraKaWani the Legendary Combo, ShaUTa the Marine Combo, and now this…" I looked down at the Condor Medal since we have Taka, Kujaku and now Condor, making the Blazing Combo.

"Make sure to put it to good use, alright Enrique?" He smiled, "That will be all."

"A-Alright," I nodded before heading back to my dorm. Still…. How in the world did Kougami get the Condor Medal? First it was that Kujaku Medal and now this?

* * *

I entered the dorm as Ankh was looking through his Scroll while Akira was making his usual Oden meal. Remembering the two Cores I still kept, I took a deep breath and approached the Bird Greeed. He took notice of my approach, making him look away from his scroll. "What is it this time?" He asked irritably.

I didn't give no reply, only to dig in my pocket and brought out the Kujaku and Condor Medal. Ankh's eyes shot up and he quickly jumped off his bunk as he saw the two Cores. "Where in the name of Oum did you get these!?" He asked, more like demanded.

"It wasn't easy, Ankh but all that work and training you showed me, I thought it was about time I do something to return the favor." I explained. "So…" I gestured to the two Cores. "I managed to get them so you can have your powers back. Look, for the past two semesters, you may have been a jerk to us but to me, I didn't care. To be honest, I see you as a mentor, as a friend. Someone that I can count on to help me along with Team RWBY, and Team JNPR. I trust you Ankh even if you are a stuck up jerk." I handed it to him as he stared at his two rightful Core Medals. "Everything isn't about desires, it is all about those around us that makes us achieve what we did so far."

He stared at me dead set in the eyes and what felt like minutes, he finally scoffed, "Whatever…" He looked at his Cores before absorbing them. Before we knew it, red energy surrounded his body as it formed a left wing, feathers spilling from it before it vanished.

Ankh looked at his Greeed arm before clenching it. "Something wrong, Anko?" Akira raised an eyebrow upon seeing the Bird Greeed's expression.

The red Greeed didn't reply as he stared at his Greeed arm, now I was starting to get worried. "Ankh?" I called out.

"Nothing's wrong…" He replied before making it vanish, reverting the arm to its normal form. He looked at me. "... Thank… you…." He struggled to say.

Wait, did I hear that right?

"Ankh did you just say-"

"Do not finish that sentence," He warned, Greeed arm appeared on his arm. Not wanting to piss off Ankh, I just kept quiet with my hands raised in defense while Akira ate his Oden as usual. Still, it was nice to finally hear the Bird Greeed say something kind to me for once. But seriously, I swore I remember to why Ankh didn't get his actual body since I watched the show 2 ½ years ago. Just what was it?

"Well I'm gonna see how Ruby and the others." I suggested before walking to the dorm across from mine. However, I noticed Ruby about to enter the door. "Hey Ruby." I called out to her.

The young huntress-in-training turned around, seeing me. "Hey Enrique." She acknowledged me with a smile.

"Did something happen?" I noticed her down look.

"Well… I'm kinda worried…." She admitted.

I looked at her a little more until I said, "Is it about what happened last night? Ankh told me what happened."

She nodded, "What are they planning anyway? It's not like we know what they are doing exactly. Even more with Kazari working with the White Fang, we just don't know what to do…"

My eyes soften upon this. She was concerned to what Torchwick and the others are planning. To cheer her up, I patted her head on which she looked at me. "I'm sure we will stop them. After all, it's what we do."

She smiled up at me, nodding before she opened the door, greeted by our other friends. "About time you two got here." Weiss huffed.

"I had to give Ankh his two other Core Medals; Kujaku and Condor." I answered but hearing this surprised the group.

"Wait you mean he got back two of his Core Medals and since he has two of his Taka Cores that means-"

"That's the thing, he didn't regain his body for some reason." I answered, recalling how his real body didn't form.

"But, how is that possible? Shouldn't he have everything by now after getting some of his cores?" Yang questioned.

"I wish I knew… Even he is wondering why he hasn't got his real body back." I crossed my arms. "Something must have happened 800 years ago that is preventing him from getting his real body. But what exactly?"

This left us with many questions to why Ankh didn't get his real body until Ruby noticed something by the desk. "What's that?"

Yang turned her head as we all notice the package. "Oh yeah, dad sent it to us, I thought it would be nice if the both of us opened it."

"Ooh, something from home!" Ruby squealed before she does to the package as she was on Yang's back, trying to reach for the package.

In seconds, the wrapping paper was torn to bits, revealing a small tube, Yang knew what it was as she made one large swing, as a clump of fur fell from the bottom part of the tube. It rustled slightly before it popped into form, showing a corgi, with grey and white fur as it barked at us.

"ZWEI!" Ruby cried joyfully, scooping up the canine into her arms and beginning to cuddle with it like it was her firstborn.

"He sent a dog?" Blake stated.

"In the mail?!" Weiss added on.

Ruby was now giggling as she rubbed noses with the small dog, making multiple noises of affection that were somehow still in the range of human ears.

"Oh, he does stuff like this all the time." Yang rebuked, scratching behind Zwei's ear with a free hand, the mail tube nestled under her arm.

I was still looking at the corgi and the mail tube that Yang held. How was that even possible for a dog to fit into something that small!? Even more, how is it still alive?! "Your dad or your dog?" I asked in total surprise before Weiss leaned towards Zwei, scrutinising him with a harsh eye.

"Are you telling me that this mangy... drooling... mutt...?" Weiss began. "... is going to wiv with us foweva? Oh yes he is, yes he is! Oh aren't you adorable!"

Huh, never expected for Weiss to like the corgi that quick. Either she has a thing for cute things or it is the dog having soulful eyes because Zwei looks like a nice dog to have around.

"Please keep it away from my belongings." Blake informed.

" _Will all first year students please report to the amphitheatre at once?"_ Professor Goodwitch's voice echoed through the room, reverberating from a hidden speaker. Weiss looked back to Zwei, scratching his chin.

"Well, we can't just leave him here while we're gone for a week." She pointed out.

"Weiss is right about that. We can't leave Zwei with Ankh either since he is also going." I agreed. "I don't know about Akira either knowing him."

"Wait, there's a letter!" Yang pointed out, pulling out a folded scrap of paper from the mail tube. Flicking it open, she began to read.

"Dear girls, I've got to leave the island for a few days, so I'm sending Zwei today for you to take care of. Enclosed is all the food you should need. Love you both, Taiyang."

As Zwei ran back to Yang's side, she shook the mail tube, unleashing a cascade of canned dog food tumbling onto the small dog. As Zwei's head emerged from the mound, he glanced around. Okay, now I was utterly confused and astonished to this. First the corgi and now that many cans of dog food? What's next, a can opener?

"What's he supposed to do with all that?" Weiss asked in wonderment. Yang shook the tube one final time, and a metallic object emerged, clonking Zwei on the head, and bouncing onto the floor. One quick glance showed that it was a can opener.

I stand corrected.

"Well, that settles it! Come on, team! Zwei will be here when we get back!" Yang said, tossing the letter and the mail tube aside, and walking to the door. As Weiss followed, she knelt down to Zwei, and continued with the cutesy talk, scratching his ears.

"Oh, I'll miss you so much, we're going to be best friends, I can't wait to see you, I can't believe how cute you are..." she rambled, as Blake leaped from Ruby's bed to a desk to the door. As Weiss left, I edged around the little corgi and out the door, pulling up alongside Blake.

When we walked out of the dorm, Ankh walked out of our dorm as he had an annoyed look.

"I can't believe I have to go with you to this crap…" He muttered. "I rather collect cell medals than go to a mission with you five."

"Cheer up, Ankh," I assured the Bird Greeed, only to receive a glare from him. I looked at Akira who was by the door of our dorm. "What about you Akira?"

"You can go on ahead, I am gonna hold the fort from here. That and I'm getting me some Oden." He said as he carried the milk tank before going on his way to that oden stand that is in Vale while the rest of us when to the auditorium.

* * *

When we made it to the auditorium, close to Team JNPR. Every aisle was taken with various students, of varying uniforms. Clearly, whatever this was for wasn't just limited to Beacon Academy. There was a plethora of chattering, as whispers emerged from a number of groups, wondering what this could be about.

Ruby finally caught up with us as she was carrying a backpack but I swore I saw it move a bit. As I stare at the bag more, I got out of my thoughts when Professor Goodwitch tap on the microphone.

"Quiet! Quiet please. Professor Ozpin would like to share a few words before we begin."

And with that, she stepped to the side, letting the Headmaster take the spotlight.

"Today we stand together, united. Mistral. Atlas. Vacuo. Vale. The four Kingdoms of Remnant. On this day, nearly eighty years ago, the largest war in recorded history came to an end. It was a war of ignorance, of greed, and of oppression. A war that was about much more than where borders fell or who traded with whom, but about the very idea of individualism itself. We fought for countless reasons, one of which being the destruction of all forms of art and self-expression. And as you are well aware, that was something many could not stand for. As a result, those who oppose this tyranny began naming their children after one of the core aspects of art itself: color. It was their way to demonstrate that not only would they refuse to tolerate this oppression, but neither were the generations to come. And it was a trend that is held to this very day."

Upon hearing this, it made more sense to why most of the names were based on a color. Not that there were a shortage of 'regular' names still in use, they were just seldom these days.

However, the real irony here comes in the form of my name, and the funny thing is that it embodies the exact OPPOSITE of what my name even entails since the OOO armor once belonged to the Multi-King.

This includes the word "home", as that is something that I lost and found myself without…

To be honest… over the past few days, I haven't thought much about home.

"We encourage individuality, expressionism, and unity through diversity. As I have said, today we stand together, united. But this bond cannot exist without effort. Which is why today, while the rest of the world celebrates peace, Huntsmen and Huntresses will work to uphold it. As first year students, you will be tasked with shadowing a professional Huntsman or Huntress on a mission. Some of you may be taken out of the Kingdom for several days. Others may work within the walls for the rest of the week. But no matter which path you choose, remember to be safe, remember your training, and remember to do your very best."

And with that, Ozpin left the stage. As the crowds began to file out of the amphitheatre, Ruby looked to us with a smile on her face.

"This is perfect! All we have to do is shadow a Huntsman working in the southeast!" She cried gleefully.

"Yeah, we'll follow them around by day, and give them the slip by night!" Yang grinned.

"Not in a million years," Ankh reminded with an irritated look. "I'm stuck with you lot, remember? "

"That's right…. They'll know if Ankh is gone." Ruby pointed it out before her shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Aw…"

"Come on, Ankh. I'm sure you can just lie to them." Yang said.

Ankh glared at the blonde before he scoffed, "You all already caused some mishaps, remember?" He pointed at Yang. "You don't think twice in your mind of what to do." He pointed at Blake. "You and that monkey boy made that criminal use a stolen Atlas weapon and chased after you." The next person he pointed at was Weiss. "She doesn't know the difference between pride and wanting to make things right." The next was Ruby. "She may be younger than you four but even she can make mistakes like at the initiation. Even more eating those cookies. She eats more cookies than I eat my own treats." He finally pointed at me. "And he is an oblivious idiot when it comes to certain things in life."

"Hey!" I exclaimed, offended by his words. "How am I an oblivious idiot!?"

"That is because you don't know that-" Before he could finish, Yang quickly covered his mouth, the Bird Greeed flailing his arms, trying to get Yang to let him go.

"Anywho~, We should get going and figure out our mission?" Yang said, dragging Ankh along with them.

"Uh… what was Ankh gonna say?" I asked the busty blonde.

"Oh, something about him liking that bird seed I gave him." She said to me, as colorful words were being muffled from Ankh. The Bird Greeed detached from his host and flicked Yang's forehead.

" **You forget I can do that you moron. And I hate bird seed!"** Ankh reminded before looking at me. " **As I was saying, the reason for you being an oblivious idiot is because you don't even realize that-"**

Yang quickly grabbed Ankh and covered his hand, using her strength to make sure he couldn't escape or break free, "We'll see you guys there. I need to get him to some bird seed pronto." She chuckled a bit before rushing off. Along with carrying Ankh's host

I looked at the other three. "Seriously? What was he gonna say?" I asked the other three members of Team RWBY.

"Oh it's nothing to worry about Enrique." Ruby smiled as she, Blake and Weiss headed to the board.

Still, what was he gonna say?

* * *

After that little fiasco, Ankh was back to his host as a tick mark was present as he and Yang approached us as we headed to the board. "I hate you." Ankh growled at Yang.

Yang reeled her hand back and smacked him upside the head hard, "And _that's_ for flicking at me." She turned to him and frowned, "And almost blew the surprise…" she whispered to him.

Ankh's eye twitched. "You all are idiots." He said to us.

"What was that?" Yang asked, holding up her fist to him.

"Woah, woah, woah, let's not start a fight!" I panicked, standing between the two. "Yang, I don't know why you stopped Ankh from talking a couple of minutes ago but fighting isn't the answer." I then looked at Ankh. "Ankh, whatever Yang stopped you from saying, I don't know what it is but at least be glad that you have some of your abilities back."

Ankh stared at me before he huffed, "Fine, whatever. I would have beaten the blonde anyway since I got back some of my abilities."

I looked at Yang. "Yang."

"Heh it's all good." She smiled, turning to Ankh, "And to note, _I_ still can beat you, pigeon." she smirked.

I sighed, rubbing my temples to prevent an oncoming headache before we approached the board. Ruby was looking through the list of mission until she saw one that caught her attention. "Here we go! Quadrant 5 needs some Grimm cleared out."

Looking over the holographic board of missions available to us, all our eyes had quickly scanned for any missions destined for the southeast of Vale. From what was available, the 'Search and Destroy' category had a mission to, of course search and eliminate the Grimm in that area.

"Well it is the southeast like you mentioned before." I observed. "So I guess we should take the mission."

Coming to an agreement, Ruby quickly tapped the board, followed up with putting the team name to request the mission. But to our disappointment, red letters blinked on the screen.

 **MISSION UNAVAILABLE FOR FIRST-YEAR STUDENTS**

"Wonderful…" Weiss groaned sarcastically.

"Any other ideas?" Blake asked. Ruby turned to the rest of us, a smile on her face.

"We mail ourselves there!" She suggested.

Ankh and I facepalmed upon this. "I don't wanna know how all of people, you would think of that idea." Ankh muttered under his breath.

"That is one idea though…" We all turned to see Ozpin walking up on us as he had his Scroll.

"Unfortunately, we determined that the concentration of Grimm was too extreme for first-year students. As a matter of fact, that area is intensely popular, for some reason. But regardless, I have a sneaking suspicion that you will make your way there, no matter what mission you choose."

Ruby rubbed her head nervously.

"Uhhh...what makes you say that?" She tried to sound innocent but it was barely passing.

"I'm still curious on how you made to the docks last semester, along with the several fights against unknown Grimm that resemble Faunus, and that incident at the highway." He added on. "And I certainly wonder why witnesses reported seeing a giant robot suit chasing two teenagers down a highway, with two bikers in pursuit and an individual who sped past them, wearing armor."

"Well…" I started until Ankh elbowed me with a look that says, 'karma hurts doesn't it?'

Ozpin though smiled softly, "I doubt I'll ever know… So, instead of waiting for you all to break the rules, why don't we just bend them a bit?" He said, pressing a few buttons on his scroll as the mission was now opened for us to submit our Team.

"We won't let you down. Thank you Professor." Ruby nodded to Ozpin. The said professor just gave us a stern look.

"Do not thank me for this. Teamwork, persistence, and vigilance have carried you this far, but you must understand, the things that await you beyond the protection of the kingdom will not care. Stay close to the Huntsman you will be assigned with at all times. He will be leading you on this mission, and should he find your skills to be unsatisfactory, he will send you back to Beacon. Good luck." He said before going on his way. We all glanced at each other worriedly before heading to the landing pad.

"He wasn't kidding either," Ankh muttered before he huffed.

"Well? What are we waiting for? Let's go!" Yang beamed.

Exiting the auditorium, we made our way to meet the Huntsman we will be assigned to.

* * *

At first we thought we would be assigned to a Huntsman who has a lot of experience, only for our sights to be met with none other than Professor Oobleck. We were all in shock, terror, and disbelief upon the fact we will be shadowing him. Ankh looked like he wanted to tear him apart knowing the coffee-addict and his love for coffee.

"Of all the people…" Ankh uttered before grasping his head, willing to scream out in sheer irritation. "I am stuck with you five who will be shadowing Oobleck of all people! I really hate this!"

"Oh, come now Professor Ankh. No need to get hostile." Oobleck said, sipping his coffee.

The Bird Greeed's eye twitched. From what we can tell, there are some things that annoy him greatly: Being called Anko, teaching us, not getting much Cell Medals, Akira, the teachers, _and_ Oobleck's talking. The Bird Greeed marched past Oobleck, not willing to wait as the five of us looked at Oobleck who spoke up.

"I'm afraid those bags won't be necessary you five, seeing as you've opted to shadow a Huntsman on what is now essentially a reconnaissance mission. I can assure you, we will not be establishing a single base of operations; rather, we will be traversing several miles of hazardous wasteland and making camp in any defendable locations we may stumble upon. I packed all the essentials myself, plotted our air course, and readied the airship. And…" Professor Oobleck paused mid pace and turned to us "It's _Doctor_ Oobleck. I didn't earn the PhD for fun, thank you very much!"

We looked at each other, giving a vocalisation of confusion. No one got to interject, as the good doctor dashed back to his earlier position, getting our attention again.

"Come now, children! Already we are now three minutes behind! ...schedules! And with that Dr. Oobleck crossed the distance between the courtyard to the helipad where our transport was awaiting. Ruby perked up.

"Well, alright then! We're going to save the world with Doctor Oobleck… yeah, it sounds worse when I say it out loud…" Ruby started off joyfully but realized it was bad enough already as we heard Ankh shouting, hearing some words from the airship, showing that he is already _pissed_.

"Come on… We better get there before those two go at it…" Weiss sighed, walking ahead of us first.

Ruby followed her, then Yang, while Blake was standing there, almost in a daze in which I took notice. "Hey Blake, you okay?" I asked.

She blinked, snapping out of whatever she was in as she turns to me, "Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine Enrique. Just thinking about something is all." She replied to me.

"Well if you need someone to talk to, you can let me know," I offered.

She smiled softly and nodded, "Of course, Enrique. Thank you" She said before walking ahead of me.

Seeing her smile, it made my heart race again, it was that same feeling again. I shook my head to keep myself together before I followed the others to the airship. Still… what is this feeling…?

* * *

Ten minutes, later, the airship was soaring over the clouds and we had engaged in a conversation with Dr. Oobleck. Ankh on the other hand was looking at the clouds as he was ignoring us, not wanting to hear from the professor.

"Well, I guess I never saw you as much of a fighter, Doctor. Well, there's Mr. Akira of course." Yang stated. Ruby nodded in agreement. Despite Akira being a Wandering Medic, he fought as a Huntsman and with the Birth System, he now helps out with fighting the Greeed and Yummies.

"Yes, well, I admit I fancy more of myself as an intellectual, but I can assure you as a Huntsman, I have had my fair share of tussels." The doctor responded.

"Like the mushroom?" Ruby asked in confusion. Blake leaned over to her.

"Those are truffles." She stated.

"Like the sprout?" Ruby asked again, now more confused. Yang leaned over to her.

"Those are Brussels." She clarified.

"Like the chocolate?"

"Oh for Oum's sake, the coffee-addict was talking about fighting!" Ankh shouted in frustration.

Oobleck cleared his throat, giving us our attention again. "Anywho, given my expertise in the field of history as well as my dabblings in the archaeological surveys, our dear headmaster saw fit to assign me to this particular assignment!" He stated.

"Che, why you? I rather take the blonde teacher than you…" Ankh scoffed.

"If you must know, I know about the history of the location we are heading to." he responded. "The southeast quadrant outside of Vale is home to wild forests and deep caves, but! It is also the location to one of the kingdom's greatest failures!"

"Mountain Glenn?" Ruby piped up. Looking at her, Doctor Oobleck gave the leader a smile upon the answer.

"Correct, Ms. Rose! As I'm sure you're all aware, Mountain Glenn was originally an expansion of the main Kingdoms of Vale." Dr. Oobleck confirmed but for me I didn't know nothing about the place he was talking about but I decided to keep quiet and follow along so I can know more about the place he was talking about.

"Yeah it was… But it shut down due to the overpopulation of Grimm, to where it became an abandoned city ever since." Blake added on.

"Correct. And to this day, it stands as a dark reminder." He finished.

"Che, like it can't be any darker than the Lost Kingdom 800 years ago…" Ankh scoffed until I elbowed him, the latter giving me a glare upon that. He may be a jerk but there comes a time when he pushes things too far, this being one of them since I know my respect and understanding about dark times back on Earth.

"But it does sound like a place for a hideout," I responded to Oobleck.

"Precisely!" Oobleck finished, pushing his glasses up to the bridge of his nose with two fingers. The airship began to turn, and the side hatch opened, revealing a decimated town. Partly destroyed buildings cast looming shadows over the streets, and abandoned debris cluttered the foundations. We all landed on the ground as my eyes were set on the place. Even with this place being a ghost town… it was rather troubling and sad place. I mean this was once a place meant to expand the kingdom but now it is nothing, only an abandoned city.

Even Ankh was quiet for once when he laid his eyes of the ruined city. His eyes showed the look of nostalgia before he shook his head to ignore it.

"Ladies! Mr. Alderete! You may still be students but as of this moment, your first mission as Hunters has begun! From this point onward you are to follow as I or Professor Ankh say! Do you understand?" Dr. Oobleck stated. We all turned to look at him and nodded but he then took notice of the bag Ruby was carrying.

Wait, why is she carrying it when we were not suppose to bring our bags?

"Ms. Rose! I thought I told you to leave your bag at the Academy!" He scowled.

"But… uh, you hadn't told us to listen to you yet. So I didn't." She said nervously.

Oobleck blinked before pondering her answer, "She isn't wrong though." He admitted, "Very well, leave your bags here, and we can get them later on."

"But I, uh…"

Before she can finish, a bark was heard from the bag in which all attention was on the bag she carried. We then saw a familiar dog's head pop out from it. "Get back in the bag…" she whispered to the corgi, keeping eye contact with Oobleck.

"We're here, on a dangerous mission, filled to the teeth with Grimm and danger, and you brought…. A dog?" Oobleck said to her, as if she was about to be scolded.

"I, uhhh-"

"GENIUS!" The doctor exclaimed, much to our surprise. Oobleck rushed past her, snatching Zwei out of her bag and causing Ruby to spin around and fall dizzily to the floor. Oobleck just spun around, Zwei held aloft in his arms.

"Dogs are historically known for their perceptive nose and heightened sense of sound, making them excellent companions for hunts such as ours! I wish I had thought of this plan myself, Ms Rose!" Dr. Oobleck grinned, while Zwei barked happily in his hands. Ruby turned to us with a smug smile on her face.

"I'm a genius!" She stated. Yang and Weiss facepalmed, unsure how to deal with this as Ankh scoffed.

"Sure you are," he rolled his eyes. "It's only another piece of annoyance."

Oobleck was the next to speak up as he turned to us. "As you've been informed, the southeast area has been marked as a recent hotspot for Grimm activity. Now, there are several possible explanations for this behaviour, one of which being… Grimm." He explained. Ruby scratched her head at the redundancy.

"Uhh, wha?"

"Grimm. A creature of Grimm approximately one hundred yards ahead of us." Oobleck pointed it behind us. We turned around and saw he was correct indeed. A Beowolf was prowling ways down the street, pawing at the ground, as if it was searching.

We got ourselves ready to fight until Oobleck held out his hand in defense. "No wait. There are a number of reasons why Grimm will congregate in this particular area, but the most likely cause is their attraction to negativity. All qualities of negativity that are likely held by our hidden group harbouring ill intent." He explained.

"So, what now?" I asked.

"We wait, we follow. If we follow it, it will lead us to it's pack, therefore our prey." Oobleck noted.

"And how long will that take?" Ankh questioned with an annoyed look.

"Uncertain. Hours? Days? Weeks? Why, lone Grimm have been know to separate from their packs for whole mon- And there's the whole pack…" What came out of the alley way near the first Grimm were several more Beowolves as they sniff around before they looked at us.

"And now they've seen us." Oobleck noted.

"What?" Weiss got out.

"AND NOW THEY'VE SEEN US!" Doctor Oobleck shouted right into Weiss's ear, somehow mistaking her vocalisation of shock for one of inquiry.

"So tracking them down is out of the question?" Ruby asked.

"What do you think?" Ankh scoffed.

"Girls. Mr. Alderete. Show me what you got." Oobleck said to us, wanting to see our skills and abilities.

I quickly unsheathed Medajalibur as the others except Oobleck got their weapons out while Ankh simply walked to the nearest rooftop to watch before we charged towards the Grimm.

* * *

After nearly two hours, we finally finished off the Beowolves that saw us, the bodies of the Grimm disintegrating. Ankh already finished three of his treats, tossing the sticks over his shoulder and jumped down from the rooftop while Doctor Oobleck finished writing a few things down on some paper as he walked up to us.

"Ah yes, very good you all. Now, shall we continue? The day is still young after all. And we're still far from done with this mission." Oobleck said, sipping some more coffee.

* * *

It had been hours since we'd arrived at Mountain Glenn, and the Grimm just refused to offer a moment's peace. After I had killed that first group of Beowolves, I was in the TaToBa armor, with even more Grimm had revealed themselves to us. Beowolves, and Ursai, along with some I didn't recognize. Right now, the sun had begun to set, casting an orange glow over most of our surroundings. Another Beowolf pack had revealed themselves, and had begun to attack me. But it wasn't long before the tide had turned, and with a combination of Tora Claws, swift strikes, and quick movement, all my foes lay dead on the ground, their bodies having begun to dissolve into wisps of smoke.

"What of you, Mr. Alderete? What made you decide to embark on a Huntsman's path?" Dr. Oobleck's voice rang out, startling me slightly. Yanking the yellow claws out of the final Beowolf, I immediately came face to face with the doctor, as he sat on the edge of a crumbled fountain, which trickled softly with stale, stagnant water.

"What do you mean?" I asked. Dr. Oobleck merely shrugged, and began to write down something in a notebook. I couldn't see what it was, but I had a feeling this was some kind of assessment. Seeing no way to escape the question, I decided to answer his question.

"Well, when I arrived in Beacon, all I cared about was helping people…" I explained. Dr. Oobleck looked up and raised an eyebrow.

"I can understand how such a life would be of interest to you, but the police would also provide a similar lifestyle. My question is, why did you decide to become a Huntsman?" He asked.

"Um…" I paused, trying to think. For such a simple question, the answer was difficult to give. I mean sure that I decided to join Beacon because all I cared about was reaching out to help people. "To be honest... all I care about was reaching my hand out to help people. If I don't then what good comes to that?"

"I see..." Dr. Oobleck said, before scribbling into his notebook, and walking away. I just stood there, the sun's glows shining the armor a bit, as disappointment bubbled within me, along with questions.

However when he left, I looked at my gauntlets of the Tora, left with questions in my head. Why become a Huntsman? More importantly, why did I decide to accept the mantle as a Kamen Rider…? Was it due to my reason to help others… or was it something more to it that I don't even realize it.

* * *

It was beginning to get dark, and the population of Grimm had taken an enormous downturn. Where they once littered the streets, prowling for their next meals, now the town was seemingly empty, as if the Grimm had been present for only a few days, instead of years.

"Oi, the flare is up," Ankh informed, jabbing his thumb to the back.

Looking up, I saw a blue flare soar into the sky. The signal to regroup. The Tora claws folded back onto the armor, before Ankh tossed me my bag, and the both of us made our way back to where we had landed in the city.

Arriving in the square, I was greeted by the sight of Ruby playing keepaway with Zwei, using a whole roast chicken impaled on the end of Crescent Rose. I sighed, and shook my head: even if that was valuable food going to waste, Ruby and Zwei's cutesy look would soon shut down any form of objections. Looking up to see Dr. Oobleck approaching from another street, Ruby hastily removed the chicken from her weapon, and stowed both away.

"Sorry! So, uh, are we gonna keep going?" She asked, as the rest of the team appeared.

"No, I believe we've done enough today. It will soon be getting dark." Dr. Oobleck stated, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. Whirling around, he threw a bag towards Yang, who caught it with a grunt.

"You five, set up camp in… that building." He ordered us, pointing to a partially crumbled, but still standing four storey building. As we all turned to look at it, I looked back to Dr. Oobleck.

"What about you and Ruby, Doctor?" Yang asked.

"Ruby and I will secure the perimeter. We don't want any… unwelcome surprises in the night, do we?" He answered, before walking away. As Ruby turned to follow him, he looked back to us.

"Oh, and do make sure there are no more of those… creatures lurking about." He added, before resuming his pace, Ruby at his side.

"C'mon, we should move." Blake said, before turning to walk towards our campsite. We all followed her, and soon got to talking about the day's events, as we set up sleeping bags, rationed out food, and soon had a small campfire burning away. Most of the chatter was about three things: how many Grimm we had killed each, any sights of Uva since he has been on the down low which brings concern to me on what he is up to and whether we had seen any trace of the White Fang in the area. In all honesty, I had spent a little too much time focussing on not dying at the hands of the Grimm. But it was a moot point, as nobody had seen hide nor hair of the radical group.

Death is what I feared ever since that day.

"I can't believe we didn't find anything." Weiss scoffed, looking out of a crumbled wall and to the darkening sky.

"We've always been fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time. I guess we can't always have luck on our side." Blake remarked offhandedly, as she continued to scribble in that book of hers. I didn't know what she was writing, and frankly, I didn't dare to ask. Just because Blake had revealed her secret past to us didn't mean we should pry any further. I know how she feels about hiding one's past but I opened up to her, telling her about my past. Ruby, Ankh, and her are the only people who know about my past.

"That's not what I meant." Weiss responded, looking back to the fire, and warming her hands against the blaze. Blake looked up in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Earlier, about... upholding the legacy. There's more to it than that." She clarified.

"Yeah... No, me too. I mean... I don't know." Yang agreed.

"I don't know, either. I know what I want to do, but I figured I'd always take things one step at a time." Blake sighed, snapping her book shut, and stowing it away.

"Sorry, but am I missing something here?" I asked, confused about what was happening. The girls looked to each other, before Weiss turned her gaze back to me.

"The professor asked us all about why we became Huntresses. Did he ask you too?" She inquired. I nodded.

"Yeah. I mean, I wanted to help others. Ever since I came to Vale. But it feels like there's more to it than that." I explained, fishing in my bag for a granola bar, unwrapping it, and taking a bite while Ankh got out a cold pack before pulling out a bar of ice cream. Yang just sighed.

"Sounds like you had a better time than we did." She said sadly, taking a bite out of a bread roll.

Swallowing, I looked to her.

"Whaddya mean?" I asked. The three girls looked to each other, before Weiss glanced at me.

"Well, I wanted to uphold my family's legacy. Carry the Schnee Dust Company forward, and free it from the controversies that surround it." She explained.

"I just wanted to fight injustice, but… how?" Blake breathed. Yang swallowed a mouthful of buttered bread, and finished up.

"I… I dunno. I just wanted to enjoy not knowing what'll come next." She sighed. I looked into the crackling flames, and shrugged. If neither Weiss, Blake or Yang could answer the same question…

"Hmm…"

"Ah, wonderful! A textbook campfire!"

Dr. Oobleck's voice startled us, as the professor suddenly appeared from nowhere, with Ruby and Zwei quickly rounding the corner after him. Ruby squealed quietly at the sight of the blaze, and dashed forwards, warming her hands against it, Zwei by her side.

"Very good! Eat your dinners and hurry to bed. We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow and we'll need you to take turns keeping watch over our temporary abode. Any volunteers for first watch?" Dr. Oobleck asked. Before he could even finish, Ruby raised her hand to volunteer, without even tearing her eyes away from the fire.

"Yo."

And with that, Dr. Oobleck sped away further into the building. As Ruby got up to take watchposition, Yang stood up, and began to ask her something.

"Hey, did Oobleck ask you why you wanted to be a Huntress? I mean... what did you tell him?" Yang asked, a serious look in her eye. Ruby looked away briefly, deep in thought, before turning back to her.

"Hmm... No, he didn't. Weird. Oh, well; good night, guys!" She saluted, before taking position in a hole in the wall, with Crescent Rose at the ready and Zwei by her side. She looked down, and scratched his ears.

"Don't worry. Things will be better tomorrow." She reassured, looking back out to the night sky. As I lay down my head against the bundle of down, I tried to sleep. But no matter what, my eyes just wouldn't comply.

Things will be better tomorrow...

Somehow, I don't think so.

* * *

Tossing and turning on the sleeping bag, I just couldn't get comfortable. No matter where I lay, spiny pebbles dug into my back, and the harsh glare of the moon was helping in no way whatsoever. It just didn't seem like this night was going to bring me peace. I'm used to the non peaceful sleep but this was different.

Ankh on the other hand was sleeping by the edge of the windowsill like he was used to this kind of stuff. Then again, he often leans against tree branches for the bird he is.

"Blake, are you awake?" Yang's voice, even if it wasn't directed at me, roused me from troubled slumber.

"Yeah." She muttered, rolling onto her side.

"Why do you think he asked us about being a Huntress? Like, what was he trying to say?" Yang asked. Blake just shrugged.

"Maybe he was just curious." She responded, a little uncertainty in her voice.

"You think?" Yang asked, concern apparent with the question. Blake didn't answer for a bit, before rolling onto her back, and looking up at the starry sky through the shattered roof.

"No." She muttered. Yang looked into the embers of the crackling fire, before turning to Weiss.

"Weiss, are you awake?"

"Of course I'm awake! You two are talking." She snapped. Yang winced, as Weiss continued to talk.

"And I think he... When I said I wanted to honour my family's name, I meant it. But, it's not what you think. I'm not stupid. I'm fully aware of what my father has done with the Schnee Dust Company. Since he took control, our business has operated in a... morally grey area." Weiss paused.

"That's putting it lightly." Blake muttered. Looking at Weiss, I half expected her to shoot the Faunus a dirty glare, but she did nothing of the sort. Instead, she hunched her shoulders, and continued to talk.

"Which is why I feel the need to make things right. If I had taken a job in Atlas, it wouldn't have changed anything. My father was not the start of our name, and I refuse to let him be the end of it." She finished, clenching her fist at the mention of her father. Blake sighed.

"All my life, I fought for what I thought was right. I had a partner named Adam. More of a mentor, actually. He always assured me that what we were doing would make the world a better place. But of course, his idea of a perfect future turned out to be not perfect for everyone." She explained.

This made me turn my head to look at her. I never knew she used to have a partner before she met us.

"I joined the Academy because I knew that Huntsmen and Huntresses were regarded as the noblest of warriors in the world. Always fighting for good. But I never really thought past that. When I leave the Academy, what will I - how can I undo so many years of hate?" She finished.

"Hey, if anybody can, it's you." I reassured. Yang nodded at me, then looked back to Blake.

"Enrique's right. You're not one to back down from a challenge, Blake." She reassured.

"But I am! I do it all the time! When you learned I was a Faunus, I didn't know what to do, so I ran! When I realized my oldest partner had become a monster, I ran! Even my Semblance! I was born with the ability to leap behind a shadow of myself; an empty copy that takes the hit while I run away!" Blake vented, her voice cracking slightly.

"At least you two have something that drives you. I've just kind of always, gone with the flow, y'know? And that's fine, I mean, that's who I am. But how long can I really do that for? I wanna be a Huntress, not really because I want to be a hero, but because I want the adventure. I want a life where I won't know what tomorrow will bring. And that'll be a good thing. Being a Huntress just happens to line up with that." Yang explained, rolling onto her front, and looking towards where Ruby was sitting as lookout, around the corner.

"Really?" I asked. Yang looked to me and nodded, before turning her gaze back to where Ruby was sitting.

"I'm not like Ruby, she's always wanted to be a Huntress. It's like she said, ever since she was a kid, she'd dreamt about being the heroes in the books. Helping people and saving the day, and never asking for anything else in return. Even when she couldn't fight, she knew that's what she wanted to do. That's why she trained so hard to get where she is today." Yang finished.

"Well, she's still just a kid." Weiss interjected, with a hint of worry apparent in her voice.

"She's only two years younger. We're all kids." Blake pointed out. "And Enrique is two years older than us."

"Well, not anymore. I mean, look where we are! In the middle of a warzone and armed to the teeth!" Yang sighed. No one spoke for a while, before a howl emanated from somewhere nearby. We all looked up, hands on weapons, ready just in case. But when nothing happened, we all relaxed, and I felt a familiar feeling deep in the pit of my gut. A sick feeling, one which I knew all too well since I'd arrived in Remnant.

Fear and death.

I sighed, deciding to get my issues out.

"At least you guys know what to do here. Me? I'm pretty much a pretender. I don't know what I'm doing half the time, so I just… pretend to know what to do. But to be honest, I'm out of my depth. I always avoid the dangerous places outside of my home" I summarized. Weiss looked to me through the fire.

"You've done alright so far, Enrique." She reassured. I just rolled onto my side to look at her.

"Maybe, but how long until I slip up? I just learn from Ankh's teachings since he is one who has been teaching me how to fight." We heard the said Bird Greeed snoring as he sleeps. "It's the only reason I decided to fight: because I only want to save people, to help them." I finished. Blake sighed, while Weiss sat up, and gazed into the embers.

"Regardless, it's the life we all chose."

"It's a job. We all had this romanticized vision of being a Huntress in our heads! But at the end of the day, it's a job to protect the people! And whatever we want, will have to come second."

I rolled over, and thought about what we'd all said. Weiss wanted her family's company free from the controversial reputation, Blake wished for justice and equality between human and Faunus, and Yang only strived for a better tomorrow.

I, meanwhile, had been brought here to stop the Greeed from making the world fall into desires. A scared young man, who once had hardly any idea of how to fight, brought to a place where I didn't even belong, to save this world from falling into the clutches of the Greeed. No one wants that kind of burden. But I'd been saddled with it, and no matter what, I'd have to see it through, regardless of whether I wanted to or not.

As the flames continue emanating its warmth, Weiss interrupted the silence.

"Hey Enrique, there has been something we wanted to ask you." Weiss wondered.

I turned my head to them, "What do you want to ask?"

"What was your life like before you met us…?" She asked.

I sighed. Guess it was time for share. I got up from the sleeping bag and pulled out the dog tags that hung under my shirt.

"To sum it up, there were high points and low points. Which would you want to hear first?"

"What made you want to help people?"

"It started when I saw bullies pick on other kids, I couldn't help it. I stood up to them but made myself a target instead." I explained, remembering my times back home. "There were times that I get picked on or beaten. I even ended up in the hospital at one point."

"Seriously? How did anyone let that happen?" she gasped.

"I simply told others it's nothing to worry about…" I responded. "Others would try to help me but… I just kept on pushing them away…." I looked at the campfire. "The reason to why I never fought was because the fact that I was enrolled in a normal school. I wasn't much of a fighter, only someone who tries to enjoy his day like any other normal person. But… it's wasn't normal for me… it never was..."

"Enrique…" she frowned.

"I endured many things as the years go by as well. The bullying, the name calling, the beatings; I endured many hardships in my life."

"I'm so sorry about that."

"My reason to why I want to be a Huntsman…" I summed up. "I want to reach out to help those who need a hand to help. That's all I ever wanted to do for the past 5 years." I reached for the dog tags and motioned the girls to approach me. When they got close, I pressed the hidden switch, causing the dog tags to open, revealing my old family photo of my parents, myself, and my little sister.

"Is that… your family?" Yang asked. I slowly nodded.

I pointed at the man in the photo. "That's my dad. He was a man who had his beliefs in protecting people." I explained. "He always told me when I was little that protecting someone isn't a task, it's a promise that you keep their life safe. Help them have a better future…"

"What happened to him…?"

"He died when I was eleven." I answered, causing Yang and Weiss to have pity looks and Blake knew about my family since she was the only person I first opened up to. I then pointed at the image of the woman. "That's my mom. She was a school teacher, not a combat school, but a normal school for kids. She was the mom that I often talk to when I was little. After my dad died, I distant myself from her. I talk to her sometimes but not that often like I used to."

"What about her?" Weiss points to the young girl.

The image was that of the little girl who was hugging me when I was little. "That is my little sister, Marie." I stated.

I took notice of Yang smiling upon seeing the image. "She smiles like Ruby." She noted.

"She was a girl who knew how cheer someone up." I explained with a smile. "If you were sad, she was there to cheer you up. She would always call me bro…" I finally felt a small tear come down, remembering my days with my little sister, my mom, and my dad.

"So they really…" Yang tried to ask before I slowly nodded, "My mom and little sister died in a car accident when I was 14, on the same day I lost my dad, three years apart." I lowered my head as I began to remember the darkest memory that was stuck in my head for the past five years. "And I was there when it happened… they died right in front of me… I was the only survivor of that accident; I have been a survivor ever since. Surviving to live my days as I was being watched over by a family friend."

I took a deep breath as I look down at my hands. "There were times in the past that I… wanted to end my life from all that happened to me." I removed my watch to reveal old scars on my wrist. It was true too, after what happened to my family and the bullying, I was on the verge of suicide. I wanted to do it but…. I was alway ending up in the hospital, asking myself why I am still there...

Yang and Weiss, even Blake gasped quietly upon my statement. They discovered that my family died on the same day, three years apart but also hearing I wanted to end my life back then. "Enrique… we never knew you were in that much pain…" Blake muttered, her eyes softened.

"It's okay…" I slightly shook my head. "I'm still here aren't I? I had to stay strong not for myself but for my family. I promised on their very graves that I will reach out to help people, to save them." I closed the dog tag locket. "It is what I have been doing for the past 5 years… when I make a promise, I keep it to my word… to my own life." I looked at the three. "We all may have dreams but in the end…. It is something we have to work for to achieve…. Some things in life aren't given to you… they can be taken away… making you see the reality of the world." I put back on my watch to cover the scars once again. "To me… I care about my friends… The reason why I fight is to protect those around me… to reach my hand out to save them from losing everything like I have…"

"Enrique, we never knew you went through that, we so sorry to hear that from you…" Weiss, being the first one to say that, the other girls nodding with her.

"No!" I backpedaled, my hands help up front. "I shouldn't have bothered. I mean, I bet you guys have been through a lot worse…I'm sorry..."

Blake furrowed her brows, "There's nothing wrong with talking to friends about your problems."

"I know, but... I just feel like I'm… kinda taking advantage of your sympathy - which I'm not doing, just in case you guys think that - I'm really not… I'm sorry." I shook my head, avoiding eye contact.

The others looked at me with unreadable expressions, and I was afraid that I might have just given them the wrong impression. "Look, you can talk about it, but don't expect anyone to give you pity points just because you happen to have had a shitty hand dealt to you," Yang remarked sternly, "life isn't some competition about who's had it worst. Let's just agree, that all of us have had some pretty messed up crap happen to us, okay?"

All of us silently nodded in agreement, a knot of shame forming in my stomach; who was I kidding? In a death world like Remnant, there are probably _scores_ of people who've had seriously shitty lives, and compared to mine? I could only imagine; or perhaps just barely, my mom and sister being torn apart by Grimm. It sent shivers throughout my body, and even more shame. The car accident might as well have been a mercy, but still a nonetheless cruel one.

* * *

 _After a while, with Yang being the one on watch now, the young Multi-King finally fell asleep as Blake looks at the Rider. Ruby overheard everything from the four as she kneeled down next to Yang. "I… overheard everything. He really misses his family..." Ruby muttered. She understood how it felt knowing that she lost her mom._

" _Yeah…. To think he had this pain all along…" Yang replied, "And I thought he was this invincible warrior with that armor… "_

 _Ruby looked at the sleeping young man. He lost everything he once had, and all that was taken away from him. "Losing someone he looked up to when he was 11 and then three years later on the same day… losing the only people left in his life…." Yang muttered. It was like with her and Ruby when their mom died but for him, his own mom died right in front of him. There was no doubt he suffered severe trauma from the crash and seeing her corpse._

" _Still… To think he had his own troubles…" Weiss muttered._

 _Blake was quiet as the others talked. She really felt pity for him… he kept away all the suffering he went through. He simply took it and allowed himself to continue on, even with the pain that was in his own heart, the pain of losing people he cared about. The pain from being pushed around and bullied. He endured all of it. Even more was the fact that he thought of ending his life in the past…_

 _He wasn't trying to take advantage of their sympathy, he just wanted to tell them about his troubles but he felt ashamed since he thinks that they assume he was but they weren't. Sure his wasn't as worst as others but it was still something to understand._

 _Blake gently stroked his hair, the young man's sleeping eyes softening as his head slightly turned away causing a soft smile to appear on her face. She knows that she is in love with him but every time she had a chance, she only ran away for she was afraid of telling him._

 _She was afraid of the rejection too._

" _Hey…." Yang placed her hand on Blake, the latter glancing at the busty blonde. "He'll tell you soon. We know it."_

 _Blake looked away, hiding a soft blush that was forming on her cheeks. She looked back at her friends seeing them back on their sleeping bags, resting while Yang was back on watch. She looked back at the Rider before she went to her spot as she laid on her sleeping bag, looking at the small flames of the campfire. She began to remember her times when she talked to him. He was a good person at heart, even through everything he went through._

 _He may have lost everything in the past… but now her, the rest of Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Team CFVY, Ankh, and Akira are here for him. He now has friends to be there for him._

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x2)**

 **Kujaku (x1)**

 **Condor (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x1)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Kobura (x1)**

 **Kame (x1)**

 **Wani (x1)**

 **Shachi (x1)**

 **Unagi (x1)**

 **Tako (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

 **Zou (x2)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"We're not just looking for an underground crime network, we're looking for an UNDERGROUND crime network!" He replied, gesturing to the hole.

"There's too many of them!" Ruby shouted.

 **TA~JA~DOL!**

 **Next Time:** Mountain Glenn, the Breach, the Blazing Combo

* * *

 **A/N:** Well that is it for this chapter folks! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter as well the interactions between characters.

Anyways look forward to the next chapter as well as the debut of a certain full combo.

Also updates for my stories will be a little slow since I'm back at college and with work, it will make things more busy for me. I do apologize but I promise I will update them and do my very best to make the chapters good. See you all later! Stay in the shadows everyone.


	24. Chapter 23: The Breach, Blazing Combo

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 23rd chapter of OOO! And not only that, it has been officially  one year since this story was published. And the views… wow over 46,000 views within 22 chapters. Thank you all so much for supporting this story. Seeing this go so far, I am happy to see this story going well. Also, I will be working on more stories soon with one of them involving my recent favorite game, **God Eater 2: Rage Burst (** I am enjoying the game a lot) **.** Thank you everyone.

Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]).

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

EDITED AT 9/7/16 10:45PM

* * *

 _As the night continues, Yang was now taking the watch, yawning softly as she tried to keep her eyes open. Nearby, Zwei was sleeping next to Ruby before his ear raised up as if he heard something. He barked a few times, though luckily enough only Ruby heard it._

 _"Zwei? What are you doing? Go back to bed…" she yawned. The dog though started to walk off, Ruby follows after him to bring the dog back to the group. She wanders out of the building, looking for Zwei. "Zwei! Zwei, where are you? Zwei!"_

 _Nearby she notices Zwei taking a leak on the rubble. This caused her to sigh and walk up to her dog. "Zwei, this is a wasteland. You could've done that anywhere." She sighed, the dog now in her arms as it barks._

 _"What was that?"_

 _Hearing the voice, Ruby quickly hides behind some ruins. She took a peek and saw some White Fang soldiers, taking her by slight surprise to seeing them here. Guess the assumption to about them being here was right!_

 _"What was what?" Another White Fang soldier replied._

 _"I thought I heard a Beowolf or something."_

 _"Hmph. Let's just finish our patrol and get back to base. This place gives me the creeps." He responded._

" _Right about that…" The other grunt agreed before continuing their patrol. Once the patrollers walk away, Ruby and Zwei sneak around, following them. They eventually reach a ruined building with a pair of metal doors._

 _"Did they go in? One bark means yes…" Ruby asked holding Zwei near the edge._

 _Zwei heard the sound of the door closing which echoes out to his ears, making him bark once. She sets him down, "Ohh! This is what we were looking for!" she beamed, pulling out her scroll only to see it saying 'No Signal' on it. Sighing she looked at her dog, "We better get back to the others and tell them about this." she said, standing up as the two started to make their way back to the others. However, the ledge she is holding onto breaks off, and she plummets into a huge cave filled with ruined buildings, far below the surface. She lands on a building up against a cavern wall, but as she gets up, a door that was nearby bursts open to reveal two of the White Fang soldiers._

 _"Freeze!" he ordered._

 _"Where did this human come from?" The other asked._

 _As they walk forward, Ruby backs away only to end up on the very edge of the platform._

 _"She's far away from her home as well." He noted._

 _The White Fang member walks up and grabs her. "Come on. You're coming with us." He ordered her._

 _"Hey! Hands off!" She jerks her arm out of the guard's hand and starts punching him but it had little effect and he punches her hard enough to knock her out._

 _"The boss should see this…" One of them suggested as they dragged her away._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 23: Mountain Glenn, Breach, Blazing Combo**

After what happened earlier, I never thought after holding up my old feelings that I would tell the others about past… To be honest, I felt better telling them about my past…

And right now as I continue to sleep, I felt someone shaking me with which I opened my eyes to see Weiss. "Weiss…?" I sat up, letting out a tired yawn. "What's going on?"

"Ruby's missing," she answered, a concerned look on her face.

I quickly stood up upon hearing that Ruby is missing.

"Then let's go find her," I decided until Ankh grabbed the back of my collar.

"Not so fast, if you haven't noticed. We are in the middle of a Grimm infested area. We all have to search for her without wandering off alone," the Bird Greed scoffed. I grimaced before I moved myself away from him. I shook my head to keep it together. Ruby really does remind me of Marie and just remembering brought old memories. We quickly heard some familiar barking as Zwei rushes inside, running up to Yang.

"Zwei?" Yang kneeled down. "Where's Ruby, Zwei?"

It barked before it ran, making us realize we have to follow the corgi in which we did as all of us followed.

After a short run, we saw Zwei as he was barking at the spot he is at.

"Arf! Arf!"

Zwei had stopped at a crossroads, the very same one we had landed in upon our arrival that morning. But there were a few key differences compared to our previous visit. Namely, a compact Crescent Rose lying discarded on the tarmac, and a massive sinkhole in the very centre of the crossing. Zwei looked down to the sniper scythe and gave a little whine.

"Oh no." I breathed, kicking a pebble into the chasm, listening intently for the clattering it made when it hit the bottom. I couldn't hear anything from down there, making me worried.

"Do you think she fell?" Weiss asked, kneeling by Ruby's weapon, and trying to visualize what had happened.

"Seems like it. Sinkhole must have caught her by surprise." I thought aloud. But why would such an event catch her off-guard? Unless… Was she preoccupied with something?

"Oh, my… of course! Of course, of course, OF COURSE!" Oobleck yelled out, getting our attention.

"Doc?" Yang asked. Ignoring her, Oobleck continued to excitedly voice his thoughts.

"How could I have been so stupid?!"

"Doctor, what is it?" Weiss asked, standing up, Crescent Rose in her hands.

"Mountain Glenn! Yes, it was an expansion of Vale that was inevitably destroyed by creatures of Grimm! Previously home to thousands of people, working people commuting to the main city! They develop a subway system to the inner city! Grimm attacks increased in response to fresh prey making regular excursions into their territory, the population now in danger, so they seek shelter! City evacuates into the metro tunnels, and what do they find? The southeast quadrant of Vale is known for wild forests and deep caves!"

"So what does it mean?" I asked. Oobleck looked to me.

"We're not just looking for an underground crime network, we're looking for an UNDERGROUND crime network!" He exclaimed.

"Wait, they've been working in caves?" Blake asked.

"Nonono, Mountain Glenn was Vale's first serious attempt at expansion. Thanks to an aggressive perimeter defense and a unique transportation system, the expansion worked for some time. But without natural defences to protect its borders, like those surrounding Vale, Mountain Glenn was doomed from the very beginning! As the Grimm began to close in on the town, the citizens made one final attempt at survival: by taking shelter beneath the city! In the caves, that had been excavated for the subway system. And in doing so, they managed to cut themselves off from the surface!"

"So they were living in an underground village," Ankh said.

"Correct you are Ankh. A safe haven. Until… a wayward explosion opened the mouth of another cavern. One filled with subterranean Grimm." Oobleck bowed his head, his eyes sparkling behind his glasses.

"After that incident, the kingdom of Vale saw fit to seal off the tunnels, creating the world's largest tomb. And if Ruby's down there, without her weapon…"

Oobleck threw his thermos into the air, and to my surprise, it elongated with a series of clicks and whirs, transforming from a thermos to something resembling a baseball bat.

Okay I gotta admit, that was cool but right now wasn't the time to see that, we had to focus on finding Ruby…

But looking down, I felt the unsettled feeling in my stomach. A familiar feeling… the fear of losing those close to me. I leaned over a little more before looking back at the others who were trying to find a way to get underground until I noticed Zwei tugging me, making me look down at the corgi. "Don't worry… We'll find her." I let out a small smile.

It barked happily before its direction soon pointed at an area. I blinked until I leaned over the corner to see doors up ahead. "Was that where you and Ruby were searching for?" I asked the corgi.

It barked again, tugging on my pants as if it wanted me to head to the doors. I looked at my friends then at Zwei. I know we had to stick together but this was Ruby we're talking about. I know that this isn't my home world but Ruby reminded me too much of Marie…

I didn't want to make the same mistake again…

Coming to a decision, I was about to walk around the hole until a familiar hand stopped me from progressing, causing me to look back and see Yang. "Think you can just leave us behind?" She said, smirking at me. She must have guessed what I was about to do.

"We just have to get to those doors over there," I pointed at the said direction. "Ruby must have seen the White Fang enter through there."

"Then we'll go with you." Blake smiled.

Weiss huffed at me, "We're a team, aren't we? Why go in alone?" She crossed her arms.

Upon hearing this, I looked at the three while Ankh scoffed. "It's better to make sure you're alive than dead." He said. "I still need to find the other Cores."

I rolled my eyes before I smiled. "Then let's go save Ruby." I agreed as I unsheathed Medajalibur.

* * *

 _Deep inside the caves, the two White Fang soldiers dragged Ruby heading down towards where their 'boss' is at. While that happens, Ruby did regain consciousness, opening her eyes and only that. As she does, she notices the White Fang doing many strange things next to a train._

" _Hey watch it!" One of the grunts shouted to the other. "You almost killed us by dropping that!"_

" _Sorry," the other replied sarcastically._

' _What's going on? Why do they have all this stuff?' Ruby thought to herself._

 _The two dragging Ruby stopped as one of them looks at an open train cart. "Uh, Boss? We have something for you to look at." The Faunus rebel said._

 _"Is it good or bad, Perry? Because let me tell ya, I have had a day." A familiar voice replied from the railcar._

 _"Uh…. It's a little girl?"_

 _The person who leans through the doorway to see Ruby was none other than Roman Torchwick. "That would be bad." He jumped out as he approached the three, looking at Ruby. "If it isn't little red."_

 _"Roman.." she glared at him._

 _He chuckled, twirling his cane as he looks at the two guards who were leaning against the wall. He looks back at Ruby before throwing her across the floor. "Wow! You are much more manageable without that over-sized gardening tool of yours." He mocked._

 _Ruby gets up and charges at Roman, which he simply sidesteps, sending Ruby stumbling across the floor._

" _I must say Red, this is quite the surprise! And here I thought you didn't like me?" Roman said cheekily._

 _She couldn't do much because her weapon was back at the surface and she was surrounded by two White Fang soldiers and Roman. She tried to her Semblance again but it useless as she was pulled back and fell back to the ground._

" _Sorry little red. But we're not done here yet." Roman twirled his cane, turning to Perry. "Mind grabbing the tape, Perry?"_

 _The said White Fang soldier nodded before grabbing it until an explosion was heard which distracted the group. And on cue, Ruby used her Semblance to run off towards the group, causing Roman to growl in anger._

" _After her!"_

 _Ruby panted, dodging the bullets of the White Fang as she did her best to make her escape, but while she was running, she wasn't paying attention as she tripped and fell onto the ground. "Ow…" She groaned._

" _Need_ _a little help?" She looked up to see a yellow armored gauntlet._

* * *

"Need a little help?" I smiled under my helmet as I had my hand out to her, as I was in my TaToBa armor.

"Enrique!" Ruby beamed, jumped up and hugging me tightly.

I chuckled lightly before I looked at her. "Are you okay?" I asked as she pulled away from the hug.

"I'm fine, I'm fine! But listen! Torchwick's got all kinds of weapons and robots down there."

"What?!" Blake hands Ruby her weapon.

"They are loading them up on the train cars too!"

"Ahhh, that's ridiculous," Oobleck informed. "These tunnels are seals, the tracks lead to a dead-end."

A blow horn can be heard from near by as we turn towards it, _"Ladies, Gentleman, Faunus. We are moving out!"_ Roman voice echoed as the train began to take off.

"Looks like they are still determined to complete the task," Ankh noted. "And seeing how those tracks lead northwest, guess where he is heading to?"

We all pondered until we realized where exactly. "He's heading straight to Vale!" I said.

"We need to do something!" Yang called out.

"There is one way to make sure it doesn't happen," Oobleck said.

"We have to stop the train!" Ruby finished. Upon this, all of us went after the departing train as we ran as fast as we can to get on the train. Ruby, Oobleck, and Weiss were the first to get on top of the train, while Yang, Ankh, Blake and I got on next.

When all 7, well 8 if you include Zwei, got on the train, Weiss rushed up ahead and opened the hatch but something caught her attention. "Err… Professor?"

"Doctor." Oobleck corrected.

"What's that?" She asked. Oobleck knelt down to get a closer look.

"That, my dear… appears to be a bomb." He answered. Immediately, we all edged away from the explosive, afraid of being in such close proximity to such a dangerous device.

Ruby turned her to the front part of the train before noticing what was ahead. "Uh… We got baddies!" Ruby yelled, pointing further down the train. Looking in that direction, I saw a number of White Fang goons climb onto the top of the train, armed with guns and swords, and looking very angry.

"Get the humans!" One of the White Fang members shouted.

Oobleck sighed. "Well, I didn't expect them to go-" Suddenly a sound went off as Oobleck looked down, to see the bomb now armed and counting down to explode. "Easy on us…." He then looks at his students. "We need to get moving, now!"

They nodded as they quickly rushed towards the other car, but Oobleck holds Blake back, "Blake! Cut the caboose line! It'll kill us all!" He ordered her. Blake jumps down between the two carriages. Immediately after she had disappeared from their view, the caboose had detached.

"It decoupled itself!" Blake shouted up, climbing back on top.

"Guess Roman really doesn't want us on here…." Yang groaned.

Oobleck looked up to the careening train car, watching as it vanished into the tunnel. The bomb aboard the wayward carriage detonated, and the roof of the tunnel began to cave in, illuminating the tunnel slightly.

"That's not good…" the doctor muttered.

"Uh, neither is this!" Ruby yelled, causing us to spin around. She and Weiss had opened another panel on the carriage roof and were looking into it in concern.

"Another bomb?!" I yelled.

"No, no, no…" Oobleck muttered, before dashing to the next car, and opening a third hatch.

"THEY ALL HAVE BOMBS!" He yelled back to us. Before we could respond, the bomb in the carriage we stood on began to beep loudly. Ruby and Weiss slammed the hatch shut and took off running down to the next carriage. Blake, Yang, Ankh, and I quickly followed suit, leaping over the slowly growing chasm as the carriage detached from the train. Yang looked back to the disappearing train car.

"This doesn't make sense!" She yelled. We all watched as the carriage vanished further and further into the distance before an indecipherable cry sounded behind us. Looking further down the train, the White Fang goons were drawing closer and closer. We turned back to see the group of White Fang now closer than before. "We need to deal with them before we can proceed," Oobleck noted.

For Ankh, he stared at the train cars that decoupled until his eyes widen in realization and looked at us. "Oi! I think I know what he is doing!" He shouted.

"And what will that be!?" Weiss asked.

"Those bombs are creating openings in other words-" Suddenly, hordes of Grimm descended into the tunnel from the newly opened hole in the roof. Beowolves, Ursai, Deathstalkers, even a King Taijitu, plus some lizard-like Grimm that I couldn't place a name to. The Taijitu roared, and the Grimm began to charge at us as the rest of us realize what Ankh was about to say. "He is leading Grimm into the city."

"By Oum, Ankh is right! Torchwick is leading Grimm to the city!" Oobleck agreed.

"What? But that's insane! Why would he do that?" Blake questioned.

"It's the desire to put the city in a panic, what do you think?" Ankh retorted as he kicked a White Fang grunt off the train.

"We need to stop him before this train leads to the city." Yang slammed her fists together. Yang was right though, if the criminal leads the Grimm to the city somehow, then it would endanger the lives of the civilians.

"Yeah," I agreed as we went charged in. When one tried to swing their blade at me, I used the Tora claws to block the attack before using my other gauntlet and punched the grunt in the chest before kicking him away.

Ankh dodged their attacks easily, striking them down as they collapse on the train as he scoffs, "Weaklings… Next time, learn to actually fight." He caught the incoming blade with his Greeed arm and grabbed the grunt and threw him aside. With some of his powers back, we could tell the big difference in terms of fighting skills. Now, Ankh's fighting skills were getting close to the point that he truly wasn't kidding that he and the Greeed were the first Huntsman. Blake charged forward, slicing through the weapons as she kicked off the members that came close to her, making sure she is in a safe range.

"There's no more time! We have to hurry! All of you, get down below and try to stop those bombs!" Oobleck yelled. We all dashed to the nearest hatch, and Blake went down first, followed by Yang, Weiss, and Ankh. As I climbed into the crawlspace, Ruby prepared to follow but was stopped when Oobleck sped forwards, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Not you, Ruby. We have a more important task." He stated. Ruby looked up.

"Which is?" She asked

"We're going to stop this train." He responded, before looking at me, and nodding his head, as if telling me to keep going. I nodded back, and shut the hatch, sliding down the ladder into the steel compartment.

Once we reach the inside, Yang hit the ground, followed swiftly by Weiss, Blake, Ankh, and me. As I got my bearings, I looked at the surroundings. The carriage was about the size of two shipping containers placed end to end and was laden down with a large array of cargo.

"I guess this is what we trained for," Yang muttered. Weiss rifled through a pocket in the interior of her jacket and fished out something resembling a gun's magazine. But rather than bullets, it was loaded with Dust crystals. She quickly gazed at it and held it out to Blake.

"Here. This should help." She smiled. Blake took the clip and exchanged it with her current magazine in her weapon. But regardless, we all charged ahead, boots clattering on the steel ground, when someone dropped in front of us from the ceiling, causing us to skid to a stop. As the new arrival stood up, we immediately recognized her.

Neo.

We hadn't seen her since that night we had fought Torchwick and Kazari under the freeway overpass. Her appearance still gave me chills, and I could swear I saw her eyes change colour as she blinked. It made for a very unsettling image. Yang unfolded her bracelets, ready for a fight against the pint-sized girl.

"You guys go on ahead. She's mine." Yang ordered, a hint of venom in her voice. The four of us nodded and resumed our charge. Yang cocked her weapon and fired a flaming round at Neo, who simply sprung backward on her hands, letting Weiss, Blake, Ankh, and I progress further into the train.

* * *

As Blake, Weiss, Ankh, and I progress towards the front train car, we entered the next one as we were about to continue to the other side but the top part of the train car suddenly burst open as a figure crashed in.

The figure in question was humanoid that has the motif between a gorilla and a stingray as it had large blue-gray, bulking arms that could crush anything it gets hold of. Its torso was covered with what was to be a stingray while its left arm had the spike-tail of it. Its head was a gray color with the front of its face covered while the back of its head had hair extruding from it while its neck had the 'wings' of the stingray. It roared, banging its fists to its chest.

"Our lucky day, a Yummy," Ankh grinned, sensing the Cell Medals it has.

"A Yummy?!" I recognized. But how was there one here, even more, this one being new to me? "But how…"

"Kazari must have created it from Gamel's and Mezool's Cores since he still has some of them," he observed. "And knowing that he has some of Gamel's Cores then it means he can make a Yummy from his body."

I look at the Yummy then back at Weiss and Blake. "Weiss, Blake, you two can go on ahead," I said as I sheathed the Medajalibur and placed the O-Driver on my waist, the belt forming before the Bird Greeed handed me two Core Medals that he thought would be useful for this fight. "Ankh and I will handle the Yummy."

The two nodded as they quickly rushed towards it but Ankh unleashed a fireball at it, diverting its attention back to the both of us as I placed in the three Cores, tilting the buckle and scanned them with the O-Scanner. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **WANI!**

The crests aligned before it flew back to me, forming the armor as I was now equipped with the Taka helm, Gori Bagons, and the Wani Legs while Ankh brought out his Greeed arm and his short sword, the both of us ready to fight the Yummy.

"You better not screw up," Ankh reminded.

"I'm not gonna let you down," I assured.

The both of us charged towards the Yummy as it did the same by meeting in the middle as it reared its fist back to deliver the first punch but I used the Wani legs to stop it as it created energy that was shaped like crocodile jaws, biting into its arm in which caused it to spill Cell medals, stumbling back. However we took notice it didn't react upon the kick, as if it didn't want to block it.

"Something is up…." Ankh pointed it out.

"What do you mean by that?"

The Yummy roared as it placed its arms together as the spikes soon shot out from its arms, causing the both of us to take cover. "That's why." He said. "It was testing our strength. It is now relying on mid-range attacks before we can even punch it."

"Any ideas?" I asked.

Ankh quickly brought out Kame before tossing it to me. I switched Gorilla with Kame and scanned the medals again.

 **TAKA!**

 **KAME!**

 **WANI!**

The crests aligned before changing the Gori Bagons with Kame shields in which I brought my arms together to form the shield as I got up, the spikes being blocked thanks to it. When I got close, I used the Wani legs once again to kick the Yummy as more cell medals spilled from each hit.

The Yummy growled as it spewed water at me, pushing me back before sending more spikes at me, luckily, Kame helped save me from the spikes, but the water kept pushing me back further.

"Damn it…" I cursed under my breath. "This Yummy seriously is trying to prevent us from getting closer to it."

"You think?" Ankh asked as he ducked back down to the crate to avoid some of the spikes. "Just try to get to that Yummy so I can get cell medals."

"How can I when it won't let me get close to it?!" I shouted to him. Seriously, I know he wants to get Cell Medals but this was a situation where the Yummy is preventing us from attacking up close.

"Why not use this then?" He showed me the Unagi and Kuwagata Medal before tossing it to me. I was confused at first until I realized that both of mid-range to long range attacks and both use electricity. Taking his advice, I switched Kame with Unagi and scanned the medals once more.

 **KUWAGATA!**

 **UNAGI!**

 **WANI!**

Instead of being equipped with the Kame shields and Taka helm, I now had the Unagi whips and the Kuwagata horns. The whips extended be off right whiplashed the Yimmy before it can spray water once again, causing it to revive some shocks upon the contact. To double the voltage, I used the Kuwagata horns and sent electricity at the Yummy, finally causing it to stumble after a while. It groaned before sending more spikes, this time, it was focusing on defense as it kept pushing me away, wanting me to spend all of my energy on it.

I painted as I clenched my hands. "Can't give up on this…" I muttered, trying to keep focused. I focused on the two abilities again and unleashed more shock onto it before I fell on my knees, feeling that I'm starting to get exhausted while the Cores were beginning to revitalize my body. But then, I had an idea but it was a long shot but hey, it's better than nothing.

"Damn it," Ankh cursed as he was about to unleash a fireball but the Yummy quickly shot its spike at him, causing the Bird Greeed to take cover again before the kaijin marched towards me, making me raise my head to see the two bulking fists ready to crush me.

I smirked lightly under my helmet. "Here's the kick!" I said before kicking it where the sun doesn't shine. The Yummy yelped as it moved away, holding its area that I kicked. Wow, I guess it did work. Seeing the Yummy now away from me, I charged forward before I unleashed a few more Wani kicks as each one bit down onto it before I unleashed a devastating shock as the Yummy finally had smoke coming out of its skin.

"Now let's finish this!" I announced before scanning the medals.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

I jumped in the air before the Unagi Whips and Kuwagata Horns sparked with electricity, completely surrounding my body as the Wani legs formed the shape of a crocodile. Passing through the three rings of the corresponding color, I delivered a fatal kick that came in contact with its chest, causing the Yummy to explode into cell medals.

I breathed heavily before I tilted the buckle back while Ankh quickly grabbed all the Cell medals that were on the ground much to his delight. I know that the Beast-type Yummys have one Cell Medal but since it is also mixed from Mezool's Core Energy, the Hybrid Yummy had Cell Medals instead of one medal.

"At least that Akira isn't here," he mused, enjoying the cell medals he gathered from the defeated Yummy.

I rolled my eyes upon hearing h in before we quickly went to the hatch so we can meet up with the others. When I got to the front I saw Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang were already there as we joined up with them.

"Now that we stopped Roman, how do we stop the train?" Ruby asked.

Oh… now that we didn't think of.

"Uh… Girls?" I pointed at the wall ahead.

"What do we do?!" Blake yelled. Ruby and Weiss looked to each other and exchanged a smile and a nod. The heiress stepped forwards, spun her rapier, and planted it into the metal beneath our feet. But instead of the ice snaking down to the wheels of the carriage like I had expected, the ice began to fold up around us, sealing us within an arctic cocoon, just as the train crashed into the metal wall ahead as everything went black for me.

* * *

I groaned as I opened my eyes, my vision blurry at first. The old feeling of what happened to me 5 years ago was slowly returning in my head, causing my eyes to widen before I turned to see the others slowly waking up as well.

However, I took notice of the surroundings as we see where we are.

The central plaza of Vale.

The destruction of the train had forced us all to the surface, along with an enormous pile of debris, some from below, some from the destroyed road. Glancing around through my dizziness and possible concussion, I saw a crowd of people looking at the carnage in fear and confusion. After all, how many people expected a group of heavily armed teenagers to burst through the ground?

* _ **RUMBLE**_ …*

The ground quaked violently, loosening more debris, and I heard a quiet hissing. Hissing that I had heard before.

Behind me, a long, black, scaly body exploded from the hole in the ground, sending wreckage skyward. Looking up, I saw the head of an enormous Taijitu look down on the plaza, and roar hungrily.

The citizens of Vale began to scream, and flee from the carnage, as more and more Creatures of Grimm emerged from the hole. Beowolves chased fleeing civilians ravenously, while Deathstalkers scuttled along the streets, using their luminous stingers to strike at the stampeding crowds. The Taijitu slithered forwards, ignoring us, as it flickered its tongue out, searching for any unfortunate people that would make for a relishing meal.

As the Grimm finally crawled out of the breach, all hell broke loose as the soulless beasts began to attack the civilians. The beasts killing those that couldn't escape in time. The blood that was spilling onto the grounds of the city.

Seeing all of this, my breathing became heavier while my pupils dilated as my eyes widened. I dropped to my knees as my heart pounded in my chest, my breath now becoming rapid.

I was remembering that day. The day of the car crash. We were...mom, Marie, and I...were trapped in the car. We couldn't get out. I screamed for help. My mom's lifeless body in front of my eyes, all the blood that I saw…

The Medajalibur fell from my grip as I trembled in shock and fear.

"Enrique!"

I couldn't respond as I covered my ears, wanting to stop the sound that was entering my head, the cries for help, the screaming... I couldn't close my eyes... I have to look away... Why can't I!? Please make it stop!

"No more… No more…" I whimpered as shook in fear. "Please don't die… Please don't die… make it stop… please make it stop..."

"He's having a panic attack!" Ankh's voice said to team RWBY. "The breach is triggering his memory of his loss. The worst day of his life."

Sensing Enrique's emotions, the Grimm zeroed in on him. He was radiating with so much grief, guilt, and fear. He was a beacon for the Grimm with those very emotions.

Some of the Grimm that were close quickly went after him as a Beowolf pounced with its fangs and claws out to tear him apart.

Before it even had the chance, a familiar red blade was embedded in its head. In front of the young Multi-King was Ankh as he pulled the blade out of the Grimm before his Greeed arm appeared, unleashing a few fireballs at the incoming Grimm that were drawn to Enrique's emotions.

He quickly looked back at me before feeling his claw on the collar of my jacket.

"GET OFF YOUR ASS, ENRIQUE!" Ankh slapped me.

I slowly looked up at Ankh, "Ankh… but..." He then interrupted me.

"You have to keep it together, damn it!" He demanded, no ordered was more like it. "Do what I chose you to do! Fight for a cause! Fight as OOO!"

I slowly picked up my sword and put on the OOO Driver while Ankh handed me three Core Medals.

"Use this combination," he suggested. I slowly grabbed the Cores from his hand before placing them in the OOO Driver. Tilting the buckle, I grabbed the O-Scanner from my side and scanned the medals. "Henshin."

 **KUWAGATA!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **CHEETAH!**

The symbols of the said Cores appeared in front of me before they flew back to me, causing me to be in the armor with the Kuwagata Horns, Gori Bagons, and Cheetah Legs equipped instead of the standard TaToBa set. Hearing the sounds of the stag beetle, the horns conducted electricity before it began to send blasts of lightning toward the oncoming Grimm. When an Ursai was charging towards me, I used the Cheetah legs and the Gori Bagons to deliver swift, brutal punches to its bone armor, smashing it as the shards from it were embedded into its head.

Ankh was right though… I.. I have to keep it together… I have to… They need my help, I need to fight like a Hunter now. I was suffering from a panic attack from seeing what happened... but now... I have to do what Ankh said. Fight as OOO to prevent the Grimm from attacking any further.

I quickly avoided a Beowolf's strike and smashed its head in before punching away another that tried to bite.

With the help of the Kuwagata horns, I managed to shock some of the incoming Grimm. Upon the next attack, we saw more Grimm merging out of the hole much to our dismay. "They just keep coming!"

 _ ***B~ANG!***_

A loud blast can be heard as we look to where it came from. And as that happened, we saw none other than Nora, flying in on her hammer, laughing loudly before slamming her hammer down onto the King Taijitu that just popped up.

"Nora!" Ruby beamed. "Why are you here?"

"Not just me, silly!" she pointed behind herself, the others now seeing the rest of JNPR fighting off some Grimm the moment they arrived to help us out.

"Enrique." Ren nodded, shooting down a few Bewolves behind me.

"Looks like we just made it in time." Pyrrha smiled, spearing an Ursa.

"Why me…?" Jaune sighed, striking another Ursa down.

We were glad to see Team JNPR since we still had to fight the Grimm that were escaping the breach. However despite all ten of us fighting them off, the numbers kept increasing. We were now surrounded by Grimm due to the now made hole, no thanks to the White Fang. We were giving our very best as we cut them down.

"There's too many of them!" Jaune shouted, cutting down a Beowolf.

"We can't let more escape from the breach!" Ruby called out before she was smacked by an Ursa.

"RUBY!" Yang shouted as she rushes towards her sister. She punched the Ursa that was about to kill her sister before staying by her side to protect her.

I looked at my friends and saw we were getting outnumbered. I didn't want to die here, not now, not ever and I didn't want to lose my friends against these beasts either. I needed to do something. That was then I remembered the two Medals that I gave to Ankh; Kujaku and Condor. This may be the only chance we got.

With my confidence and determination now building up, I looked at Ankh and said, "Ankh, I need Taka, Kujaku, and Condor! Give them to me!"

Ankh glared at me upon my request. "Like hell I will!" He denied, stabbing a Beowolf in its chest before shooting out a fireball at an Ursa.

I gritted my teeth as I slashed a Grimm across its chest. "Damn it Ankh, just let me use your power! I don't want my friends to die!" I shouted. "What about the girl you met!? What about the one you met in the past!? Do you want history to repeat itself and relive what happened to you?!"

I know he told me to never mention the girl he knew 800 years ago but this was a life or death situation and if the Grimm continue their progression in the city then there's a chance the Sara girl he met could die. "You told me that I have to fight as OOO!"

Ankh gritted his teeth as I reminded him and he shut his eyes as he clenched the fist of his Greeed Arm. It flashed red as he produced three of his red Core Medals.

"You better not lose them!" Ankh shouted before he tossed the Core Medals to me.

I caught the red Core medals as I noticed I was completely surrounded by Grimm. "All or nothing..." I muttered as I quickly switched Kuwagata, Gorilla, and Cheetah with Taka, Kujaku, and Condor before scanning them with the Grimm pouncing at me.

 **TAKA!**

 **KUJAKU!**

 **CONDOL!**

 **TA~JA~DOL!**

A blazing aura burst from my body, burning the Grimm that surrounded me as my armour formed on my body and once it had completely formed, my friends took stock of my appearance.

The Taka Head helmet had turned into the Taka Head Brave with a more detailed design on the helmet to resemble a bird's head with the yellow beak being a gemstone. The wing-like attachments to my helmet had become bigger and the eyes had turned red.

My shoulder armour was bright red and came in three layers, making them appear spiked and feather-like. My gauntlets had a similar appearance at the elbows with more red feather-like armour. Red feather-like bands ran down to my wrists which were circled with gold wristbands. The backs of my hands were decorated with more red armour, completing the arms at least.

The sides of my thighs were decorated with crimson fabric which held the image of feathers when looked upon. The shin armour spread out just below my knees in more wing-like decoration. My feet though had a single yellow blade rising from the red armour over my feet with two similar blades coming from either side of my ankles. The O-Lung Circle crest was surrounded by a golden ring which sported a red emblem that resembled a phoenix by combining the images on the red Core Medals.

This was the TaJaDol form, the Blazing Combo.

 **(Cue TaJaDol Combo - Time Judge All)**

This power… is this the power that Ankh feels when he is in full power? The heat that was emitting around me, it felt warm, comforting but at the same time powerful. It was that of a phoenix that was ready to burn down anything and protect anything. An inferno burning within the soul, of a dream that can reach the sky.

Now filled with determination, I ran to my friends while slashing the Grimm down before I was in front of both teams, facing the Grimm. I could tell that behind me, they can feel the warmth and power the armor was emitting.

Fire enveloped my hands and I launched a flamethrower attack at the Grimm. I then did the movement Eiji did before spreading my arms out, the shining peacock tail feathers now visible for my friends to see as they fanned out behind me.

"Enrique…?" Ruby muttered in awe as the two teams saw what I was doing.

I flicked my wrists as the feathers detached from my armor, becoming a large number of feathered projectiles. " _This_ is what I do to protect you guys. I may have lost my family… but I am _not_ gonna lose you guys too." I said before thrusting my arms out, commanding the projectiles to shoot at each of the Grimm that was charging at us. Each one hit dead center of each Grimm, causing miniature explosions upon the impact of the feathers, dwindling the number of Grimm one by one.

The O-Lung glowed, summoning a round shield with the TaJaDol Combo's emblem on it. It mounted itself to my left wrist and I used it as a flame blaster, shooting each one of the Grimm.

I aimed the small shield at an Ursa before unleashing another fireball as the help of the Combo enhanced it, incinerating the Grimm that came towards us. I looked back at my friends. "What are you waiting for? Let's finish off these soulless beasts!" I smirked under my helmet.

They all cheered together, each one charging ahead to take on any Grimm that comes near them.

I charged in as well as we all began to fight back, preventing further Grimm from escaping. It was thanks to the combo that the number of Grimm was decreasing dramatically as eat Grimm I took down, they become nothing but ashes and dust. As we continue to fight, I decided to change tactics as I put my arms forward and spread them out, causing a pair of metallic red bird wings to spread open from my back. I then took off into the sky.

"He can fly!?"

Once I was in the air, I swoop down to shoot each Grimm that I could see, incinerating them. Each hit was proven fatal to the Grimm as they fall one by one with Team RWBY and Team JNPR now assisting me on taking down the Grimm.

I went higher as I fired at the Grimm that were on the rooftops until a black feather nearly pierced my helmet, but instead flew past me. Turning my head to the source, I saw a Nevermore, a _big_ Nevermore at that. It was larger than the one I defeated in the Initiation. "Wow… And I thought the Nevermore from before was the biggest one I have seen." I whistled.

The Nevermore shot more of its feathers at me, showing that no one else is allowed to be in the sky. I quickly avoided its attacks before shooting fireballs at it. However, it didn't do much, only making it more pissed as it is. "Crap," I muttered. It opens its beak, ready to gobble me whole but I flew away before it begins to chase after me. Every time I shoot the massive bird, it didn't receive much damage. Its armor was thick as a Deathstalker. I kept on avoiding its beak from snapping me in half and its feathers that were being aimed at me. It felt like I was the prey while the Nevermore was the predator, ready to eat me whole.

"Gotta think…" I muttered to myself, avoiding its feathers from cutting through my armor. A light bulb came up as I looked at the TajaSpinner. I opened it, revealing three Cell Medals as this made me remember what Eiji did. He used the TaJaDol Combo in the Giga Scan. Maybe it can work against the Nevermore.

I removed the three Cell Medals before placing in Taka, Kujaku, and Condor into the Taja Spinner and closed it. Once closed, I placed the O-Scanner on top of it as this caused the device to let out a rapid chime before I swiped it across.

 **TAKA!**

 **KUJAKU!**

 **CONDOL!**

"Here goes…" I spread my arms out as a fiery aura has completely surrounded me.

 **GIN-GIN-GIN GIGA SCAN!**

* * *

 _Team RWBY and Team JNPR were fending off the Grimm that were less in number thanks to Enrique. Not to mention, the Atlas military finally arrived to fight off the Grimm that were emerging from the Breach. As they fought off the last of them, a fiery light made them look up and saw what was in the sky. In the sky, they saw Enrique becoming enveloped in fire, shaped into a phoenix. It was like they were seeing something from a storybook._

" _Is that… a phoenix…?" Pyrrha muttered, speechless upon seeing it._

" _It's what my power can do when used with the OOO armor," Ankh responded to the Amazon, watching the scene as it unfolded above them._

" _Amazing…" Weiss uttered._

 _They remembered Ankh telling them that he was the most powerful of all the Greeed but they never knew that his power would be powerful enough to help Enrique defeat a lot of Grimm._

 _Was this how much power Ankh has when he has all nine Cores? If so, they were glad that Ankh was on their side._

* * *

Once the fire was at full power, I flew towards the Nevermore as I extended my right arm out. "SEIYA!" I shouted as the fire-like aura screeched before we went straight through the giant Nevermore. Once through, its body was glowing a bright red before it exploded into ashes as they glow a bit upon falling to the ground.

Seeing the fight over and the Atlas military finally on the scene to eliminate the remaining Grimm, I landed on my two feet as the wings disappeared, ending the battle.

 **(End Song)**

I heavily panted from the amount of energy that was used in the armor for I could barely feel anything. Slowly reaching for the buckle, I tilt it back to its original position, dispelling the armor but the moment I did, my body felt completely drained and exhausted as I struggle to keep myself up from using the Full Combo.

"Enrique!"

I took notice of Team RWBY and JNPR running up to me as I slowly showed a smile. "H-hey you guys…"

"Enrique, are you okay…?"

I coughed harshly as I felt something I thought would never see again. My own blood. "Guess it was too much for me, huh?" I rasped before I passed out.

* * *

 _Ren quickly got hold of their friend as they were shocked by what happened. Ruby looked at his Scroll and saw the percentage of his Aura, showing that he has 1% Aura left in him. "What's wrong with him!?"_

 _Ankh, on the other hand, ignored the question as he walked up to the unconscious body of Enrique before he snatched the Red Cores from the O-Driver and absorbed them. "The power of the Combo put too much strain on his body and depleted almost all of his Aura. I told you, I was the most powerful of the Greeed and my power was too much for him. It happened to the Multi-King last time." He responded. "Bastard was lucky he withstood it."_

" _And you didn't tell us!?" Yang yelled._

" _Why should I?" He scoffed. "Enrique is lucky as well. If it wasn't for him, you all would have had your asses handed to you and become Grimm chow. It was his fault that he used my power."_

 _Before anyone knew it, he was slapped harshly by surprisingly Blake and Yang._

 _Ankh rubbed his cheeks, ignoring the pain from the double slap he received. "His fault!? How is it his fault for using the Combo?!" Blake questioned._

" _He did it to protect us. He even saved Ruby and the rest of us!" Yang added. "He did what was right! This isn't his fault!"_

 _Ankh huffed before walking past them. "Where are you going?!" The blonde brawler demanded._

" _Checking on something," he said, referring to Sara to see if she is safe._

 _The teams saw Professor Goodwitch approach the hole that was made before using her Semblance to seal the Breach before Ruby spoke up._

" _Let's get him to the infirmary." She informed._

 _The group nodded as Ren and Jaune lifted Enrique by the shoulders and carry him back to Beacon._

 _After a while, they got him to the infirmary and the doctors were gonna take care of him much to their relief to hear that their friend was gonna be alright. Once things settled down a bit with nighttime now going, Yang decided to take a walk in the courtyard before noticing the same swordswoman from before that saved her._

" _Who are you?" She asked._

 _The mysterious swordswoman removes her mask, shockingly revealing her face that was similar to Yang in appearance. The only thing different is her red eyes and black hair. "Yang, we have a lot to talk about."_

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes, barely able to move my aching body.

"You guys he's waking up!" A familiar young voice informed.

I slowly turned my head and saw Ruby with her kind smile gracing her lips as I took notice of the rest of her team and Team JNPR along with Sun and Neptune. "H-hey you guys…" I weakly greeted. I did my best as I slowly sat up, feeling pain coursing through me.

"Take it easy, Ankh told us the combo put a lot of strain on your body," Ruby said.

I nodded slowly, trying to not put a lot of strain on my body. "How long was I out?" I asked.

"Two days," Yang answered. "You gave us a scare after that battle."

If only I could let out a chuckle but I was weak as it is. "Sorry that I made you guys worried. I didn't want anything bad to happen to my good friends." I apologized.

"No need to apologize, you saved us." Blake pointed out. "We should thank you."

"Yeah plus you were awesome out there, being in a Phoenix and all," Sun added.

"And demolishing that large Nevermore. You know that only expert huntsman and huntress can handle one like that?" Neptune remarked.

"You fried it more exactly," Yang said with a mirthful grin. We groaned from her pun.

"Really, Yang?" Weiss deadpanned. The blonde merely shrugged.

"Where's Ankh?"

"He first went to find someone then came back and probably asleep. Along with the trail of boxes on the ground." Jaune answered. I rubbed the bridge of my nose, knowing that Ankh must have eaten a lot of ice cream. I seriously gotta confiscate his treats.

"Damn it, Ankh." I cursed under my breath.

"Guy has a sweet tooth for ice cream, gotta admit," Sun commented. "Well, Neptune and I should head back. We'll see you tomorrow."

I nodded as Neptune and Sun left as the others look at each other. "Guess the same goes for us too. We have classes tomorrow." Pyrrha agreed.

The others nodded as they headed to the door but Yang stopped for some reason. "What wrong, Yang?" Ruby asked.

"You guys go on ahead. There's something I have to do," She replied.

Her teammates looked at each other before nodding. They left as Yang and I were the only ones in the infirmary. "Is there something wrong, Yang?" I asked.

She turned around before reversing the chair as she rested her arms on the headrest. She took a deep breath for a moment before speaking up. "Listen, I want to thank you for saving Ruby back in the initiation and the battle from two days ago as well as helping her out. You have no idea how happy I was to see she is okay."

"Ruby is your sister, I didn't want someone to lose their sibling."

"You did mention about your family back at Mountain Glenn…" She remembered. "I can understand why you help us and the others you meet. When I saw the image of your little sister… She was like Ruby. She reminds you of her doesn't she?"

I lowered my head upon hearing the last part before I slowly nodded in confirmation. "Yeah… Ruby and Marie aren't that different when it comes to personality and the smile they show…" I answered.

Yang had a soft smile appear on her lips. "Hey, to be honest, I am glad Ruby got you to be her first friend here in Beacon."

I let out a smile before she got up from her seat and walk to the side of the bed. "Yang?" I blinked.

She caught me off guard when she kissed my cheek. Her soft lips touching my skin for this made me blush. "Thank you for helping us." She thanked. I swear that somewhere back home, Zack was shouting 'lucky bastard' for me getting kissed on the cheek by another attractive girl.

She giggled upon seeing my expression before she stood up, "And you should ask Blake out."

Hearing this made my blush intensify. "Y-Yang!" I stammered. "I-It's not like that!"

"That what they all say before they ask the person out." She teased.

"YANG!" I stammered more, my blush intensifying. She laughed at my reaction before she walked out the door.

"You _should_ ask her, Enrique. I can tell by the look in your eyes and it says it all." She hinted before she left the room.

What look was she talking about?

This made me heave a sigh before laying down to get rest and my energy back. I needed my rest after what happened upon using the Blazing Combo. Using that for the first time was awesome I gotta admit.

"So that was how it felt when Eiji experienced the power of TaJaDol…" I muttered to myself. It felt comforting but it also gave me the determination. Ankh must have been a very kind person in the past when he was in full power. I then slowly closed my eyes, letting the onset of sleep take over.

As the night past, I was sleeping since the doctor said I wasn't able to leave the infirmary until the next day. Suddenly, I had a cold chill running down my spine for some reason as this made me turn a bit as I pulled the blanket close to keep me warm.

I then heard the slight sound of a chair move causing me to open my eyes due to fighting instincts. When I opened them, there sat a woman wearing a shallow cut black dress, along with 5 necklaces with an assortment of beads, a red girdle-belt, and a pair of gauntlets along with a face mask which I recognized it was a mask that resembles a Grimm. By her side was an odachi. I know my Japanese history and such due to staying in Japan for two years because of my dad so I know the swords when I see one.

I felt intimidated just by the way she looks. More importantly, how did she get here without anyone knowing!? This got me both concerned, nervous, and alert and my Medajalibur is by the other chair, far from my reach.

"Who are you…?" I asked, wary of the woman.

She remained quiet as she stares at me. "Can you at least say something?" I asked again, wondering why she is staring at me.

"Are you a threat?" she questioned.

"What?" I asked, confused.

She got hold of the grip of her odachi, causing me to panic as she asked again, "Are you a threat?" And in an instant, she appeared next to me, her blade near my neck as she remained quiet as if waiting for me to answer her question.

"I-I don't know what you mean?" I gulped. She pointed at the O-Driver on my waist.

"A power of a Phoenix was only used by one man 800 years ago who nearly ruined the other kingdoms of Remnant." She informed. "And by showing me that... I assume you are related to that wretched man… So I ask again…. Are you a threat, boy?"

"Related? Hell no! I'm not related to that King!" I denied. "A-Ankh was the one who told me to use it when I first arrived in Vale to fight!"

"Ankh?" she growled, swinging her blade though I was able to dodge it in time, a cut mark did appear on my shirt, "That Bird was friends with that man… So if he is with you, then you are the enemy…."

"I-I'm not an enemy!" I panicked, crawling backward. "I'm only using the OOO armor to protect my friends! I-I don't want to make the same mistake of losing the people I call family!"

"Prove it then... Prove to me you will risk your life for this 'family' of yours..." She said, tossing me my Medajalibur.

I looked at my blade and then at her. "W-Why would I want to fight you…? I told you, I'm not an enemy! I just want to reach my hand out to help those around me."

"And as I said… prove it, boy." She frowned, swinging her blade at me.

My eyes widen before I quickly ducked from the blade before grabbing the Medajalibur and blocked her next strike, causing me to buckle from the strength from her swing.

I quickly reached for the King Combo and places in the medals into the buckle and titled it before scanning them. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

She glared at me, as she withdrew her blade, as she does, I noticed a small colored roulette on her sheath as it turned to black, as she pulled it out, the blade was now black as she made one swing, upon contact with me, my armor sparked before dissolving and forcing me back into my normal state.

"Don't you dare use that thing against me…" She said coldly, swinging her blade at me once more.

My eyes widen before bringing up my sword again but as it scrapes across my blade, her blade left a cut on my arm, causing me to wince as I moved away from her. I quickly made a run towards the door only to find her there.

"Pathetic…" She kneed me in the stomach hard, forcing me back towards the window.

I coughed upon the kick she delivered as I slowly looked up and saw her glaring down at me, her mask making it more ominous. I then looked down to see her blade already near my neck, inching closer towards my flesh.

"I don't want to die…" I closed my eyes. "I… I don't want anyone else to die around me… I already lost my family… but I don't want to make the same mistake by losing my friends…"

She frowned, and oddly enough, pulling her blade back as she sheaths it, "You really are different than him. It amazes me you have that much power without going mad with it…."

I slid to the ground as I held my hand close to my neck upon the blade was close to my neck. It honestly scared me… I looked up at the woman. "I… I just want to reach my hand out to help those around me... If there is a hand reaching for help, and I don't reach out when I can, the regret would make me wish I were dead...I reach out my hand because all I want is to help."

"Hmph… No wonder Akira sees potential in you." she sighed.

I perked up from hearing that. "How do you know Akira?" I asked, now wondering how the mystery woman knows him.

"He's a friend. But now that I know the truth… I can leave now." she slashes the air behind her, forming a red portal.

"Wait a minute, your voice. Why does it sound almost like Ya-…"

"Don't… even think of finishing that sentence…" She glared at me.

I flinched before she entered the portal and vanished. Still her voice… It almost sounded like Yang's but older… Just who was that woman?

* * *

 _Kougami stood in the middle of the street with a hardhat on. "The power of desire, it can create and destroy. Just like this here. This was the result of someone's desire." He looked at Aria and Felix who nodded while others began construction for the city while the Kougami Foundation assisted them. "SUBARASHI!"_

 _In Vale, cleanup was taking place as well as some rebuilding. On top of one of the buildings, a figure watched what was going on. It then vanished, leaving behind a single red feather to be blown in the wind._

 _Back in Beacon, on top of a hill, Cinder stood out there, looking at the area, frowning. Emerald and Mercury walked up behind her. "What…. Happened?" She questioned them._

 _"Team RWBY, the OOO guy, and the red bird made things go awry with the train now gone as well as the breach being repaired," Mercury answered._

 _"Those stupid kids messed up the huge portion of our plan…. And now we lost too many White Fang members due to that cave in… will they even trust us again?" Emerald asked._

 _"They will only trust us." The two saw Adam and Kazari who was on his human form approaching them._

" _It's better to have the White Fang trust their own kind than the humans," Kazari drawled. " it's only a matter of time…" He looks at the city. "The desire to destroy hope… The ambitions… Oh how fun it will be for us." He then grinned. 'The chess piece makes another move,'_

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x2)**

 **Kujaku (x1)**

 **Condor (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x1)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Kobura (x1)**

 **Kame (x1)**

 **Wani (x1)**

 **Shachi (x1)**

 **Unagi (x1)**

 **Tako (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

 **Zou (x2)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"Y-You're asking me out on a date?" I stuttered, even feeling a blush rising up.

 _The blonde looked back at Enrique and Blake who were at a distance. "Alright, Ruby, Weiss, we are gonna follow those two!" She declared with a cheeky grin._

"What is wrong with me…" I muttered to myself.

 **Next Time:** First Date, Spying, Emotions

* * *

 **A/N:** Well folks! That is it for the Volume Two Arc! I hope you all enjoyed the debut of the Blazing Combo, TaJaDol as well as the use of Giga Scan. The next chapter, Chapter 24, will be the start of The Return Arc. I cannot tell you what will the arc involve but The Return Arc takes place _before_ Volume 3.

Plus, I will be making a new story soon and to top it off, it won't be a crossover story. Which one you ask? Well, it will be a **God Eater 2: Rage Burst** story. I have been playing the game for a while along with the remastered version of **God Eater** on PS4 which is called **God Eater: Resurrection**. I hope you all look forward to the story, **The** **Path of a Blood** (A God Eater 2:Rage Burst Fanfic). I have also decided to officially make the SI-OC be an OC. So in other words from my 4 current and future stories, my SI-OC will be an OC. I repeat, the SI-OC will be an OC. Look forward to more as well as the next chapters for my other stories.

Anyways look forward to the next chapter which will be the start of the Return Arc and review, favorite, follow! Stay in the shadows everyone!


	25. Chapter 24: First Date,Spying,Bird Yummy

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 24th chapter of OOO and this is where the 'The Return' arc begins! Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]).

I hope you all enjoy the start of The Return arc and with volume 4 coming out next month, I will be putting more time focusing on this story than the others but don't worry the other stories will be updated followed by this possibly every 3 days or so depending how I am. Also for my upcoming **God Eater 2: Rage Burst** story will be released soon as well, probably by the end of October or in the beginning of November.

The first half of this chapter will be one of those relaxation kind of scenes but the second half will be the battle against a Yummy. Which Yummy you ask? Well, you all have to find out.

Don't forget to check out my other stories as well.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _Blake had been going over her thoughts for quite a while now. Ever since he told her and the rest of Team RWBY about his past, her feelings for Enrique started to grow more. She knew she had developed feelings for the young Multi-King at the docks at the end of the first semester before she realized it herself during the dance, and now it was more comforting than she ever felt in a long time._

 _He was different than most people due to his personality. Being kind, caring, understanding but a little naive at times. However it was what made him unique along with what he did. He could've easily become cruel and uncaring, lashing out at the world that had been cruel to him. Yet, he still maintained his kindness and selflessness. He would reach out his hand out to help people, no matter what._

 _He helped those around him and helped them see that they should cherish what they had instead of desiring for something more._

 _It was the one thing that made him unique. And it was the one thing that made her affections for him grow more and more with each passing day. But the one moment that changed her was when he went after her after her secret was revealed._

 _He didn't care, he didn't care about her past and what happened then, only caring about her now and that was what made her realize her feelings._

 _She had to tell him how she felt about him, but whenever she had the chance, she just ran away. She was afraid of possible rejection, even more now with how that Cinder girl was talking to him. The feelings of jealousy surfaced whenever she saw the other girl talk to him._

 _She decided to do one thing that might be her first step to get closer to him._

 _Blake Belladonna was going to ask him to go out on a date with her._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 24: First Date, Spying, Bird Yummy**

" _You wanna ask Enrique out on a date!?" Yang cried out._

" _Could you be any louder?" Blake deadpanned as she narrowed her eyes at her partner. They were alone in their dorm room. Weiss had taken Ruby out to give their leader a bit of tutoring. Being advanced two years ahead, the red-hooded girl needed to catch up with her peers. "I just need advice."_

" _Dating advice, huh? Sorry, but I never been on many dates," Yang said with a shrug._

" _I find that hard to believe."_

" _Coz of my looks? Sorry, Blake, but my dad and Uncle Qrow usually scared them off and I once punched a guy down there." She answered. "That's why I don't know anything about dating. What about you?"_

 _Hearing this made Blake quiet. "Well…" she muttered. "I used to be in a relationship…"_

" _You used to be in a relationship?" Yang asked, curious. The faunus nodded._

" _There was someone before, but we didn't really part on good terms." She answered. She had left her old partner on their last job together. She just couldn't stay in the White Fang anymore with how he was leading it and the path it was going._

" _From your days in the White Fang?" The ebony kunoichi slowly nodded. "So why are you so nervous about asking Enrique out when you used to be in a relationship?"_

" _I never really went out on a date from my previous relationship…" Blake admitted. They went out, but the missions she went out with her old partner didn't count as 'dates'._

 _A pregnant pause followed from her answer._

" _Wait, seriously?" Yang asked incredulously._

" _It's complicated, Yang…"_

" _Oh…" Yang 'ohed'. "Then how about you just ask him? There's nothing wrong with just asking him out, right? Besides this could be your chance to admit your feelings to him."_

" _I-It's just that…" Blake tried to find the right answer. "I'm nervous about asking him out. What if he declines…?"_

" _Come on, Blake." Yang grinned, putting an arm over her shoulder. "You do realize that Enrique is into you. He's just a little oblivious is all, plus he never experienced something like this. Remember?"_

 _Yang proved a point since Enrique grew up without a family for the past 5 years, so he never experienced what love was like after that trauma that befell him. "Just ask him and I'm sure he will accept it," the blonde brawler assured._

 _Blake looked at her partner for a moment before giving her a small smile. "Thanks, Yang."_

" _What are partners for, Blake?" the blonde brawler smiled. "Though you should ask him now before Cinder has the chance. It's not everyday you see a guy like him here at Beacon."_

 _Blake glared at her partner upon hearing the last part. Before Yang knew it, Blake left the dorm room while the busty blonde grinned and got out her Scroll._

" _Ruby, Weiss, come back to the dorm. There's something I need to tell you."_

 _Oh how much fun she was gonna have once Blake came back to the dorm._

* * *

It had been a couple of days since I woke up from my exhaustion of using the TaJaDol Combo. Not to mention, Ankh was still wondering why he hadn't regained his real body after taking the Core Medals. For some reason, I felt like there was something to it, but I couldn't remember. I mean, sure, I had seen the series but that was nearly 2 and a half years ago. I know there was a reason to why Ankh didn't get his body, but what was it?

Why were their gaps in my memories?

Right now, I was heading back to my dorm since Akira was at the Kougami Foundation, getting the weekly maintenance for the Birth System while Ankh went to visit the Sara girl. It made me happy to see him talk to someone, being nice to someone for once. Although, he was still pretty much a jerk to us. Remembering how he was in the past, maybe Sara would be able to help Ankh reawaken the kindness he used to show back then.

"Enrique," a familiar voice called out.

I stopped before seeing Blake walking up to me. "Oh hey, Blake." I smiled. "What's up?"

"There's something I wanted to ask you…" she responded.

Hearing this made me blink, wondering what was wrong.

"What's wrong, Blake?" I asked her.

I took notice of her blushing as she looked at me. "E-Enrique…. I-I was wondering…."

"Wondering what?"

Her blush intensified before she said, "I-I was wondering if... you wanted to...go out with me…. on a date…"

Wait, did I just hear that right?

"Y-You're asking me out on a date?" I stuttered, even feeling a blush rising up. I mean no girl had ever asked me out on a date before, and now Blake was asking me out. This took me by total surprise.

She nodded shyly.

"W-Well…" I rubbed the back of my head, trying to come up with a good answer. Man, I was _really_ nervous, I never expected for Blake to ask me out on a date. I was trying to ease the nervousness that I was already before before I looked at her. Not to mention, the voice back of my mind was telling me one thing.

 _Say yes, damn it! Go out with her! Don't you dare chicken out!_

For some reason, my inner voice sounded like Ankh's. Weird.

I looked at Blake who was waiting for my answer. "S-Sure… I-I don't mind going out with you…" I accepted with a nod. I was stuttering like an idiot! Okay, I gotta calm down. "So… how about we go out at 5pm…?" I suggested, trying to ease the tension.

Her expression changed to a small smile, "Sure."

"A-Alright, see you then," I said before Blake walked away leaving me where I was.

I… I can't believe she agreed to it and this was gonna be my first date too!

Once I was out of eyesight, I leapt into the air and cheered. However my cheering stopped when a thought came to my mind, realizing something.

' _What am I gonna wear on our date!?'_ I realized in thought.

* * *

 _He accepted her request. She felt happy inside, but nervous since this was gonna be her first date with the young Multi-King. She never went out on an actual date since her previous relationship was… one-sided. But she rather not remember her previous relationship, right now she wanted to focus on her upcoming date with Enrique._

 _When Blake made it back to the dorm, she saw her teammates who were looking at her as if they were waiting for her to tell them something. Yang had a sly grin adorning her lips, Weiss had her arms crossed, and Ruby was twiddling her fingers._

" _Did something happen…?" Blake asked, wondering why the three were looking at her like that._

" _Yang told us," Weiss replied. "Why didn't you tell Ruby and me that you were going to ask Enrique out on a date?"_

" _I-I only asked Yang since I thought she knew a few things about dating," Blake answered._

" _Well… If you are gonna go out with him then I suggest we help you find the appropriate attire," the heiress declared._

 _Just from hearing that, the ebony kunoichi didn't like where this was going._

" _Alright girls, let's help Blake find the perfect outfit to wear for her date!" Yang announced to Ruby and Weiss, a grin plastered on her face._

 _Yep, she was not gonna like where this was heading._

 _They were going shopping!_

* * *

 _Meanwhile in the dorm that Cinder, Emerald, Mercury occupied, they were all on their respective beds while Mercury had his hands behind his head as he decided to speak up._

" _So the OOO guy is going on a date with the ex-Fang girl," Mercury commented. He heard the conversation when he was heading back to the dorm, and thought it was necessary to inform Cinder._

 _Upon hearing this, Cinder stopped typing on the special Scroll before her eyes narrowed. She turned her head to Emerald who took notice._

" _Emerald, I want you to follow them but don't get caught," Cinder ordered. Seeing as how the kunoichi was getting closer to the young Multi-King, she knew that it would cause the young man to have another purpose. She could not have that._

 _Emerald nodded. She wouldn't question Cinder. It was always best just to obey._

" _Why do you want that guy on our side anyway?" Mercury asked, confused. "Don't we have that cat man, Kazari helping us?"_

 _Cinder turned to him, the brawler flinching upon seeing her eyes glowing. "The person of interest is unique." She answered. "The Greeed may be powerful but something about the young man has piqued my interest along with his power." She went through her scroll for more information. "He has no Semblance but his skills have been improving due to the Bird Greeed… even more his name."_

" _You mean the 'OOO' title thing?" Mercury asked. "What's so special about that odd title?"_

" _Not the title…. his name." She grinned. "His name has no meaning due to the history of the four kingdoms."_

" _Could just be a odd name his family gave him?" Emerald shrugged._

" _There aren't any records of him either," she added._

" _Then what is it?"_

 _She pondered more upon the student. He has no known records, only the fact that he showed up out of the blue. 'Who are you really…?'_

* * *

I took a deep breath as I looked at the attire that I chose to wear for the date. I was now wearing a short sleeve white-collared shirt that was left unbuttoned, revealing a black shirt underneath it. I was also wearing dark blue pants along and gray shoes with black laces.

Seeing as I was properly dressed, I had to think over to where I should take her. From what I could tell, she liked reading books and enjoyed fish a lot (she was a cat Faunus after all). I could imagine how many plates she would eat if we went to a seafood restaurant.

A bookstore also sounded good but it won't be a good place to go to for a date.

"Where should I take her…" I muttered, trying to think of a good place. Wait, I wonder if they have sushi in this world. Maybe that could be a place I could take her to. After all, she did like seafood and it be pretty nostalgic for me since I often ate sushi back in my home world. I turned on my Scroll and began to search for any sushi restaurants in Vale. I smiled as I found one that specialized in it.

After I finally found a place to take her to, I got up from bed, getting myself ready to leave my dorm. Although, I was nervous since this was going to be my very first date ever.

"The first date…" I muttered as I looked at my dog tags. I put them in my pocket along with my Scroll before heading out of the dorm room. I closed the door behind me and approached Team RWBY's dorm. I was about to knock when the door opened, revealing Blake.

Instead of her usual attire, she was now wearing a chinese styled black shirt with a white skirt and black heeled shoes while leaving her bow on. Overall she looked very cute.

"Enrique?" she asked, getting me out of my stupor.

"You look cute," I admitted, feeling a blush coming up.

Blake blushed in return, "Thank you, you don't look too bad yourself."

"How about we both grab a bite to eat? I found this new seafood place that just opened up."

I think I saw Blake's bow twitch. Her ears did that and they were so cute.

"Ready to go…?" I offered my hand to her.

She nodded before getting hold of my hand, a blush appearing on her cheeks along with my own. We made our way out of the hall before we heard Yang shouting out, "Have fun you lovebirds!"

Hearing that made the both of us blush. Why did Yang have to say that out loud?

* * *

 _Yang watched the two depart and once the pair was out of sight, she let out a sigh. She could tell that they were nervous. For Enrique and Blake, this was their first date and they didn't have any dating experience to fall back on._

 _The blonde looked back at Enrique and Blake who were at a distance._

 _"Alright, Ruby, Weiss, we are gonna follow those two!" she declared with a cheeky grin._

" _What?" Ruby blinked._

" _Why are we following Blake and Enrique?" Weiss questioned._

" _So we can make sure their date goes well," Yang replied. "Besides you saw how those two are. We just have to make sure it ends well with a good night."_

" _So we are basically gonna spy on them?" The heiress raised an eyebrow._

" _Come on, wouldn't you want to see how their date goes?" Ruby asked the heiress._

" _No," she crossed her arms. "Besides, it is something for the two to do together. I think we shouldn't meddle with their date or spy on them."_

" _We aren't gonna interrupt their date, we are just gonna… spectate if you will." Yang assured with a grin._

 _Weiss looked at Yang for a moment before she sighed in defeat. "Fine…" she answered._

* * *

After making it to Vale, we were walking around as I tried to find a place for us to go to before dinner.

"So, movie?" I asked.

"You didn't plan much, did you?" Blake asked.

"I'm that obvious, huh? I was just hoping to wing it, you know. The usual stuff seen on TV and movies," I admitted, nervously. "A-And this is my first date too…"

"Oh…"

Now we were both walking in awkward silence. I took notice of what looks to be a restaurant with sushi. It was the one I found on my Scroll. I guess they really do have sushi.

"How about we go there?" I suggested, pointing at said place.

She looked to where I was pointing at, her bow twitching. Seriously, I have to admit that is was cute.

"Sure ," she smiled.

We made our way to the restaurant and entered the building and saw what it looked like. It looked traditional, bringing in the peaceful vibe as we saw some people eating their respective meals. It really was nostalgic since I've seen restaurants like this back home.

I knew Japan didn't exist in Remnant, but there was obviously some similar culture here in Remnant. I mean, Blake reads about ninjas and Ren looked oriental. So there was probably an equivalent to Chinese and Japanese culture here.

"Ah, welcome," the greeter smiled. "How may I help the nice couple?"

I blushed from hearing what the greeter said. "A-A table for two, please." I said.

"Certainly, if you two please follow me to your table." She gestured the both of us to follow in which we complied. We eventually made it to our table as the greeter allowed us to take our seats. "Your server will be with you shortly. But first, would either of you like a beverage?"

"Tea please," I answered

"Same here." Blake added.

The greeted nodded with a smile before walking away to get someone to bring us our drinks while we looked at the menu, wondering what to order. Some of the food that was listed was similar to the ones back home. Then again, Earth and Remnant were similar in certain aspects.

Heck, they even had a Big Belly Burger restaurant here.

"So… Blake, what do you think of the academy…?" I asked, trying to initiate a conversation with her.

"It's nice… except those that are mistreating the Faunus like Velvet…" she answered. Oh man, that was a bad start for me. Okay, gotta think…

"Blake, what's your favorite thing about reading books?" I asked, curious.

She stopped looking at the menu before looking at me as I notice a small smile adorned on her lips. A server came with our drinks. She took our orders before she left us so we could continue our conversation.

"It's the meaning behind the stories," she answered.

I smiled. "Reading a book does inspire some people," I mused. "I mean, when you read, it feels like you are seeing the events with your own eyes. Imagining that you are seeing it in person." I smiled, "More importantly you feel like you can understand the main character of the story."

"I do immerse myself in them quite a bit," she admitted. Ninjas of Love was her favorite. Though lately the male figure in her fantasies had recently been replaced by Enrique. She just hoped he never found out.

"I like to read a bit too. History, mostly." I took a sip of my tea. "It's good to learn about the days in the past, especially the place you are from…" I trailed off upon those words, memories of home coming back. After so long, I just realized that I haven't mentioned home at all. To be honest… it was starting to feel like that Earth was no longer my home… Being here in Remnant, I made a lot of friends that I was slowly forgetting my home world.

"Where did you come from anyways?" Bake asked, "You haven't mentioned your home once."

Hearing this made me look at her, knowing that I never told anyone much about where I was from.

"Did something happen?" she asked

"It's not that…" I took a deep breath.

"You're feeling homesick," she concluded.

"Sometimes I miss home but it's not only that, Blake…" I pulled out the items I kept with me and handed it to her. The items I gave her was old photos of places I have been to back at my world. Blake looked at each photo, looking confused to the different backgrounds in the photos. "I miss my family too…" I looked out the window. "Even after the accident, I could never forget what happened… I miss them every day…. And everytime it rains, I am left with nightmares of that dreadful day…"

"Enrique, these places you have been to… I never seen places like this," She looked at the photos.

"That's because there isn't a place like those here in Remnant…" I lowered my head, making Blake raise her head.

"What do you mean by that…?"

I took a deep breath as I mustered the courage and turned to look at her, "That's because… there isn't, it's not from this world… I'm not from Remnant either…" I admitted.

I then began to tell her about Earth and the country I was born in, the United States of America. The kunoichi was quiet the whole time I talked to her as I even told her some of the history of my home as well as how I ended up here in Remnant. After I finished my story, I finally took a breath and pointed at the photos. "And that is how I ended up here before I met you and the others..."

She stared at me, making me let out a sigh, lowering my head. "You think I'm crazy don't you?"

Her answer to my surprise was her shaking her head. "I believe you," she answered.

"You do?"

The cat Faunus nodded, "It's your eyes. There's no deception in them. You are telling the truth."

Hearing this left me rather happy to hear that she believes me but also surprised about upon her answer.

"Who else knows about your origins…?" she asked.

"Ruby, Ozpin, Goodwitch, and Ankh," I answered. "And now you know."

She smiled softly at me, "Enrique… I'm so touched to hear you tell me your secret…. It means a lot to me… Even after telling you mine awhile ago…" Blake said, holding her hand against her heart.

"You wanted to know so I have to be honest with myself and tell the truth sooner or later," I responded.

"Thank you, Enrique."

I smiled before we noticed our meals now on the table.

"Here are your orders. Please enjoy," the waitress smiled before walking away.

"Let's eat," I smiled.

* * *

 _From the other side of the restaurant, Yang, Ruby, and Weiss were spying on the two, making sure the date went well as the three were wearing different choices of clothes, disguising themselves so that Enrique and Blake wouldn't recognize them._

" _Looks like everything's going well so far for those two," Yang smiled._

" _Think they'll kiss?" Ruby giggled._

" _Who knows?" Yang smirked. "Hopefully we will get to see it happen."_

" _Can't we go now? It's obvious they're fine. We don't need to spy on them." Weiss crossed her arms._

" _Not until we make sure their date ends well," Yang argued._

 _Weiss turned to Yang, "Aren't you being a bit overprotective of them? Or just jealous that's not you in there with him?" she smirked._

 _Yang huffed as she lowered the menu the three were reading. "I'm not. Haven't you two seen how they look at each other? Besides the whole school knows about it remember?"_

" _Only cause you told everyone…." Ruby muttered. "But you do have a point."_

" _Ahem…. Are you going to order or what?" the waiter asked them impatiently._

" _Oh, right." Yang realized. She looked at the prices of the items and sweatdropped. "Hey, Weiss, do you mind...?"_

* * *

After a while, I paid for our meal before both of us left the restaurant together to explore Vale. The both of us were walking in the streets of Vale, enjoying our time hanging out together. It felt… nice to be honest. I enjoyed our dinner and it felt nice to just walk with her, but I had noticed something since our date started. I felt like someone was following us, watching us. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't being paranoid, but I was really sure as a shiver ran down my spine as a nagging feeling told me someone was spying on us.

I choose to ignore it since I was having fun hanging out with Blake.

"Where… to now?" Blake asked me.

"Hmm…" I pondered for a moment as I looked around until an idea came up. "Come on, I know a place you might like." I unknowingly held her hand and pulled her along with me.

After a short walk, I lead her to a place I often used to relax since it reminded me of home. The both of us went to a hill as I looked at Blake.

"This is one of the few places that reminds me of home." I gestured her to look behind me, now seeing the city lighting the night as she saw the entire city from the hill. The cool breeze brushing past us as I sat down, seeing the city as I took notice of Blake mesmerized by the sight. "Cool huh?"

"This is… amazing!" She smiled, turning to me, "How did you find this place?"

"I came across the hill when I was exploring the town," I explained. "When I wanted to relax, I found this place and when the lights came up in the city at night… It was one of the things that reminds me of how I used to see my hometown at night." I patted the ground, gesturing her to sit so she could view the city with me.

She nodded, sitting down next to me, looking around at the view. "This is a nice view Enrique… I'm honored you showed me."

I glanced at the Faunus kunoichi and smiled. "If you ever want to relax and have some peace and quiet, you are always welcome to come here to the hill."

"I'd like that, Enrique…" She smiled, leaning on my shoulder. "But… only if you join me too…"

I looked at her, seeing her kind smile in which I nodded, "Sure thing, Blake."

* * *

Blake and I made our way back to the dorms as I escorted her there. When we made it to her dorm, I looked at her.

"It was fun going out with you, Blake," I admitted with a smile.

"Yeah…" She returned a smile of her own. "I had a nice time…"

I looked at her as a blush rose up my cheeks upon staring at her eyes. Her eyes… it felt like I was getting drawn to them...

My dark brown eyes meeting her amber eyes… I didn't know why but a feeling in my heart and mind was racing more like before. Even more it was telling me one thing…

 _Kiss her..._

I unconsciously got hold of her shoulders as the both of us moved closer. Blake was always… beautiful. We were close enough to feel each other's breath until I slowly closed the distance… and kissed her. It was a gentle, soft kiss as I felt my heart race uncontrollably to the point that it felt like it was about to burst.

It was that same feeling I had been experiencing whenever I was around Blake.

After a minute, I pulled away from the kiss as I became flustered to what I did.

"W-Well… I'll see you later…" I stuttered slightly. "L-Later, Blake."

I went to my dorm room and once I closed the door behind me, I slid down to the ground as I went over what I just did.

I actually kissed Blake… Why would I allow myself to do that?

"What is going on with me…?" I muttered to myself.

* * *

 _From the corner of the hallway, Yang and Ruby squealed in joy upon witnessing the kiss while Weiss was flustered._

" _He kissed Blake!" Ruby cheered, only loud enough for Weiss and Yang to hear. "Does that mean they are together?"_

" _Not yet," Yang grinned. "That was just the second step."_

" _B-But still! I mean, I thought he was a little oblivious to that!" Weiss pointed out. She knew how their friend was. He may have a good heart to protect people and his friends but in that brain of his, he was a little oblivious to certain things. Even explaining it caused him to be flustered._

" _Yeah, he is, but it does mean he will confess to Blake soon,"replied the blonde._

" _And when will 'soon' be?" the heiress questioned the blonde._

 _Yang laughed nervously, "I actually never thought about that."_

 _With Blake, she was still standing where she was before she slowly placed her hand close to her face, her fingers gently touching her lips._

" _He…. kissed me…" She smiled brightly before she jumped upon her bed, hugging her pillow as her cat ears began to move happily._

 _She never expected for him to do that but she was happy he did._

 _She heard the door to the dorm open as she saw Yang, Weiss, and Ruby enter the room._

" _Hey Blake, how did your date go?" the blonde asked._

" _It…. was perfect…." she smiled, still hugging her pillow as it covered her blush._

" _I knew it!" The blonde cheered. "Pay up, ice queen, I told you their date would go well."_

 _Weiss rolled her eyes, paying the blonde her money._

" _Wait, you betted against her?" Blake's brow raised._

" _Only after they followed you two!" The trio turned to see a grinning Nora._

 _The aura changed as the three slowly looked back to see Blake, angered and embarrassed._

" _They_ what?" _She asked._

" _They followed you two. You know, sneaking around, watching from afar, or in that restaurant!" Nora beamed, "After all, me and Jaune were doing the same thing!" she pulled the blond Hunter out from behind the doorframe._

" _I-I told her we shouldn't have…" Jaune tried to defend himself._

 _Blake stared at the five before she said, "I'll give you a five-second head start to run." She warned. "One."_

" _Blake… come on! We just wanted to make sure nothing bad happened on your date!" Yang raised her arms in defense._

" _It was suppose to be just me and Enrique," she frowned. "Two."_

" _We didn't mean to harm! We were just uh…" Ruby tried to think of something to say._

" _Three."_

 _Jaune, Ruby and Weiss bolted out of the door first._

" _C-Come on Blake… you know we wouldn't have interrupted your date and that kiss!" Yang covered her mouth once she realized what came out._

 _Blake's frown grew as her bow twitched, showing her anger. "Four." She continued._

 _Yang and Nora both bolted as well, the JNPR member using her hammer to get as far away as she could. Yang turned to the now running Ruby, Weiss and Jaune._

" _What do we do now?" Ruby frowned._

" _I told you, this was a bad idea!" Weiss huffed._

 _Behind the fleeing group was Blake with her Gambol Shroud. "You all are gonna regret spying on me and Enrique!"_

" _We're sorry Blake!" Ruby apologized, blinking before smacking her head, using her semblance first to run away._

" _Ruby! How could you!" Weiss cried out._

" _Sorry!" Ruby responded from a far as the others were getting chased by an angered Blake._

* * *

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Ankh laughed to the point that he fell off his bunk. The reason for his laughter was when he found me both flustered and in thought the day after the date. I told him what happened and this was the result.

"I-It's not funny, Ankh!" I flustered.

"You're right. It's highlarious!" He laughed more.

It was really weird seeing Ankh laugh, but that probably proved that he had a much wider range of emotion than he showed.

I turned away. "Says the one who hangs out with Sara, acting all nice and all to her," I countered.

He quickly smacked the back of my head.

"What was that for!?" I yelped as I rubbed the back of my head.

"Shut up and run 20 laps right now," he ordered.

"Seriously?"

"Now!"

I groaned as I grabbed my black tracksuit before heading to the bathroom to change. I walked out wearing it before I left the dorm. As I was walking down the hallway, I realized I wasn't alone.

"Hello, Enrique…" I turned my head to see Cinder there in the hallway, leaning against the wall.

"Oh hey, Cinder," I greeted with a smile. "What brings you here?"

"Just wanted to have a talk. Mind if I join you?" She smiled.

"Uh… Sure," I shrugged. "Ankh wanted me to do 20 laps anyway…"

"Then give me a moment. I'll change and run with you." She smiled with a wink. She went off to her room and after awhile came back in running clothes. "Ready?"

"Yep," I nodded before the both of us went outside and began to take a jog around the school. "So how is it with your team?"

"About as useful as any other. But I'm happy to be with them." Cinder replied, "What about with you?"

"Well even though I'm a solo team, hanging out with Team RWBY and JNPR is nice." I answered. "They are good friends to be with."

"Thoughts about any girlfriend?" She asked with a soft smirk.

The question made me fluster a bit. "I…"

She then took my hand, making me stop before dragging me behind a corner, "Well then? _Enrique?_ " she asked, a sly grin on her face, pushing me against the wall.

"C-Cinder, what are you doing?" I asked, now feeling a blush rising.

"You know Enrique…. I think I can help you out with that problem..." She smirked.

"Huh?" I blinked, tilting my head. "What do you mean by helping me with my problem?"

"Enrique! Enrique, are you here?" Blake's voice rang out.

Cinder scoffed, "Well, looks like our time is up. Think about it, Enrique…" She winked, heading off away from me.

I was confused to what she meant but I shook that thought away before I turned around to see Blake.

"Hey, Blake." I smiled. "What's up?"

"Have you seen Yang anywhere? Her punishment is due now…" She crossed her arms.

"Huh? What do you mean by that?"

She flustered, "Do you remember our date yesterday?"

"Yeah? And?" I asked.

"Yang, Ruby, Weiss, Nora, and Jaune spied on us during our date…"

I groaned softly, holding my head. "I figured someone was….." I sighed. "I think I saw her out near the gym…"

"Thanks." She smiled, pecking my cheek before running off towards the gym.

I blinked upon the contact, causing my face to heat up after realizing what Blake did. Just like at the dance…

"Man, isn't she fierce." Yang said, popping out of the bushes.

I turned around to see the busty blonde. Remembering what Blake told me, I showed a fake smile. "Hey Yang."

She noticed the smile, "Aw come on, not you too! We were just making sure nothing bad interrupted your date." She huffed.

"But still…" I reminded, crossing my arms. "Why did you have to spy on us?"

"We were just looking out for you two is all!" She replied.

I stared at her before I sighed. "Look I do understand but it was suppose to a date with no one to bother us…"

"Sorry…. But hey! Least you kissed the girl." Yang chuckled.

"Y-You saw that!?" I stammered.

"Uh…. I think I'mma go now…." Yang started to back up.

"Now hold on! Why did have to watch what I did!?" I demanded.

"Um… N-No reason….." She chuckled softly.

" _There_ you are, Yang _…."_ A familiar voice called out.

Yang turned pale, slowly turning to see Blake there. "U-Um… mercy?"

Blake got her ribbon of her weapon as she tossed it, wrapped around the blonde who tried to move but fell to the ground.

"Oh come on!" She whined.

"I already got Ruby, Weiss, Nora, and Jaune, Yang," the kunoichi informed as she grabbed Yang. "You are coming with me to the dorm with the other four. We are going to have a long talk about respecting people's privacy."

"C-Can't I be an exception? I mean… we're partners…." Yang pouted.

Blake pondered for a moment before she said, "No."

"Please Enrique! Convince her to let me go!" she pleaded to me.

"Uh… Well…" I rubbed my neck.

"Please!?" She pleaded, giving me a puppy dog look.

I looked at Blake then at Yang then back at her. "Come on, Blake. She didn't mean to spy on us. I mean… Sure it's something to be upset about but you shouldn't lash it out on them for doing that."

Blake turned to me, frowning, "You do know, that they told CFVY about this right?"

"Eh?"

"I-I… uh…. Don't know what you're talking about…" Yang looks away.

I looked down at Yang. "Who else did you tell?" I asked.

"Umm… n-no one…."

"Yang," Blake warned.

"M-Maybe… Sun and Neptune…" She muttered, "Or more…"

"..."

I stared at Yang for a moment before I said, "I pray for mercy for whatever Blake does to you," I said as I walked away, hiding the now embarrassed look on my face.

"Enrique! Please don't do this! I-I'll help you out with your training! Do your homework for a year! Be your maid!" Yang pleaded, trying to think of something that would work as Blake dragged her off to where the others are at.

I pray for whatever happened to them. Blake was really upset, so it was best to never anger her.

"Hmm… What should I do now?" I asked myself.

I then recalled the Vytal festival that was coming up and the tournament. Maybe some practice wouldn't hurt? Making my decision, I went back to my dorm to grab the Medajalibur and made my way to the training room to practice. I swore I heard yelps from Team RWBY'a dorm when I passed by but I chose to ignore it since Blake was the reason.

Making it to the training room, I got to the center of the arena before I slowly unsheathed my blade. Once out, I began to practice my strikes and swings.

You know.. It was funny. When I first came to Beacon, I barely knew anything about fighting and now with the second semester almost at an end, I had learned so much about fighting thanks to Ankh.

Learning from the 'First Huntsman', I learned quickly due to his teachings. I had to thank Ankh for teaching me.

"Ha!" I exclaimed as I delivered another strike to the air at a fast pace.

"Seems everything is going well, Enrique?" I turned to see Ozpin walking into the room.

I chuckled nervously as I sheathed the Medajalibur. "Yeah. Despite the Greeed… It's not so bad until reality can hit you."

"Indeed."

"Hey Professor." I raised my head.

"Hm?"

"Ever since that day when I arrived here, not just this world but this academy." I gestured to the surroundings. "I first thought I wouldn't be able to fit in knowing what happened to me in the past but… As days past, being with my friends… Even fighting to protect and reach my hand out… It's like… It feels like I found something that gives me a reason to protect those around me. Not as OOO, or as a Huntsman…. But as myself for who I really am."

"As time goes on, many thoughts and idea change as we continue and grow," Ozpin said, "At first, it was an idea to find a way back home, and now? You're finding that you want to stay and protect those who have helped change you."

I smiled sadly, "it's funny… Earth was my home, the place I was born..." I looked at the sword. "But here… in Remnant, it feels like it is home too… but also a place where I have friends, people I care about. Even meeting people I can relate to..."

"Then I suggest you start thinking clearly… you may never know when something you want can change," Ozpin noted before walking away.

"Something… I want…?" I repeated to myself. I was never asked that question for five years… Not after what happened to my family. I never even asked it to myself. I was selfless, I never cared about what happened to me. I cared about helping people. If they were okay then I was okay.

I… I never wanted anything….

Letting a sigh escape my lips, I placed my sheathed sword on my back before leaving the arena. Maybe I can find my reason… just what is my actual reason for fighting…?

* * *

 _Elsewhere in the city of Vale, Ruby was moping after what happened earlier. Blake punished not only her, but Weiss, Nora, and Jaune while Yang got the worse punishment. It came to show that you should never spy on Blake when she wanted to spend time with Enrique._

" _She didn't have to punish all of us… It was Yang's idea…" Ruby frowned, rubbing the spot that Blake struck._

 _Deciding to relax, she reached in her cloak for her emergency cookies and pulled out the bag, opening the bag and began to devour its contents._

 _However as she ate, she didn't know that she was being watched from a tree as the dark figure was moving its arm around as if it was adjusting to its movement, red feathers blowing across the wind as the feathers followed._

 _But she did feel something, standing up and pulling out her scythe, gulping from this odd presence._

" _H-Hello?" she called out. She heard a childish chuckle, making her look around more. "O-Okay, it's not funny. You're creeping me out," she warned._

 _Searching for the source, the wind brushed past her as red feathers landed on her hand. She blinked as she looked at it, even more they look mesmerizing._

" _Ooooohhh…." she said in awe as she gently touched it, her fingers brushing across its texture. But as soon as one fell into her hand, a claw reached forward from behind as it held a Cell Medal close to her._

 _Ruby froze as a slot formed behind her head, fear overtaking her as she felt it, tears in her eyes as well. A childish giggle was heard from behind as the sound of a metallic clink could be heard as well, showing that whoever did it placed a Cell Medal inside her._

 _The young Huntress-in-training's eyes became clouded as she fell to her knees, a red void forming on her back as a Yummy that was her size crawled out, landing with a soft thud on the grass. It slowly got up as it looked back at Ruby._

" _ **I will grant your desire…"**_ _the Yummy moaned before it vanished._

 _The figure turned to the unconscious Ruby, looking at her before it let out another childish giggle that echoes into her ears before the figure vanished, leaving behind a red feather._

 _With the Yummy it was walking around until it noticed its target._

 _A bakery._

" _ **Gather… collect… savor…."**_ _It muttered before it made its way to the bakery to start its gathering._

 _In Beacon, Ankh was fiddling with the Core Medal until his senses kicked in… only the aura of the Yummy was familiar as if it came from… He darted his head to the window, seeing the city from a distance. It couldn't be. A Yummy with a familiar trait and type?_

 _It was that to a bird._

 _He got up before he opened the window and left in search of the source of the Yummy._

* * *

I was in the cafeteria as I was eating lunch with the others but also Akira decided to join in and eat oden.

"Wait so your 'Birth' armor can be used by others?" Jaune asked.

"That's right," Akira nodded with a grin before taking a bite of his oden. "Though it takes guts to use it and fight."

"I've got guts and more!" Nora smirked, flexing her muscles.

Akira chuckled upon the answer as he presented the Birth Buster. "This here is the Birth Buster. And the recoil is a nasty one," he informed.

"Oh yeah, how bad can it be?" Nora beamed grabbing hold of it.

"Oi, oi! Don't pull the-" the orange spitfire pulled the trigger, only to be sent flying across the cafeteria. "...trigger."

She popped out of the mess of cans and food, grinning from ear to ear, "That. Was. AWESOME!" She beamed.

Ren and I facepalmed upon Nora's antic with the rifle until we were interrupted when the Gorilla Candroid popped out from Akira's pocket and began to move around, alarming him.

"Oh? Looks like a Yummy is around." He grinned before he soon ate the rest of the oden in one go and got up. "Come on, Enrique."

"What about Ankh?" I asked.

"I'm sure he'll catch up knowing that bird." He waved off before he carried the milk tank full of Cell Medals and the Birth Buster from Nora's hand.

"Aw! I wanted to shoot more…." she pouted.

"Nora, you're not playing with that gun again," Ren warned.

Akira and I left the cafeteria and headed to the bullhead in search for the Yummy. When we made it to the city, we looked around for the Yummy until we heard the sound of glass shattering. The both of us looked at one of the shops, only to see a Yummy which prompted us to put on our respected Drivers. However when we got a good look of the Yummy, it was carrying… bags of cookies?

"Huh?" I blinked, "Uh… is that Yummy carrying bags of cookies?"

"Never thought they would like actual sweets…." Akira noted.

It took notice of Akira's Birth Buster, causing it to look at us.

" **Gather… collect… savor…"** it groaned.

"Welp! Time to earn the Medals," he smirked, pulling the trigger, but as he did, the Yummy flew right by, leaving feathers behind him. It reminded me of something, but I couldn't figure out what. "Oi, that was mine!"

It looked at the weapon before placing it in the bag it carried on its back. " **Gather…"** Red energy bubbled from its body.

"That can't be good…" I hissed.

" **Collect…."** It began to screech like… a bird? Before we knew it, the wrappings on the yummy fell of its hide to reveal a black feathered humanoid with a crow motif to it. It had some armor on its arms with two wings on its back. Its head was also humanoid only the head of a crow acted as a headdress with the blue eyes granting its vision. " **SAVOR!"**

Wait… a bird-type Yummy!?

"Did it just collect my weapon?" Akira growled. He took out Cell Medal and placed it in his Driver before cranking the knob while I placed in the three Cores into the O-Driver and scanned the medals. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

Akira transformed into Kamen Rider Birth before he took some more Cell Medals to activate his other weapons while I was donned in the OOO armor.

 _ **CRANE ARM!**_

 _ **DRILL ARM!**_

"Wait, Akira! That is a Bird-Type Yummy!" I yelled.

"So?"

"So… each Yummy is created based on the Greeed." I explained as we ducked when it tried to strike us from the air. I looked around, and finally spotted Ankh who was staring at the Yummy but in his eyes was the look of surprise.

"Ankh! What's going on?" I asked, avoiding another attack while Birth charged in to get his weapon back. The Bird Greeed was silent as he stared at the Crow Yummy. "Ankh, why is that Yummy a bird-type!"

Hearing my voice again got him out of his stupor before looking at me then at the Yummy, continuing to ignore me. I swear, I knew I remember something like this but from where!?

"Look out!" I turned around, only for Akira to crash into me as the both of us fell to the ground. "Man that Yummy is a tough one…" Akira groaned before the both of us got up to see the Yummy escaping.

"It's getting away!"

"It has my gun!"

The two of us looked at each other then at the fleeing bird before we made haste and chased after it. However, the Yummy was going farther and farther to the point we couldn't catch up and the kaijin vanishing from our sights.

"Damn it…" I cursed before tilting the buckle back to its original position. Looking back at Ankh, I marched up to him. "Alright, what the hell is going on, Ankh?! Why is there a Bird Yummy around!"

The Bird Greeed huffed before looking at me. "How should I know?"

"How? It's a bird for Pete sake!" I waved my arms.

"So?" He asked. "It's a Yummy and a Yummy means more Medals. Besides that Yummy has the scent of that Ruby girl's desire.

"WHAT!?" Akira and I shouted.

* * *

 _Ruby slowly opened her eyes and yawned, feeling like she had a weird dream._

" _What hit me…" she groaned before she looked around and noticed where she was at. She was in a warehouse but she was in a giant nest! "W-What's a nest doing here!?" She got out until her nose picked up the sweet scent of cookies. The scythe wielder turned around to see large amounts of cookies but there were also several weapons. Ones she hadn't seen before and a few she had seen from her friends._

 _Slowly reaching for a cookie, the creaking sound of window was heard, forcing Ruby to pull away upon seeing a Yummy but she was shocked to see that it was a Bird Type Yummy._

" _ **Gather…"**_ _it presented a bag full of cookies and weapons for her. "_ _ **Collect."**_

" _Who….. are you?" Ruby asked, reaching for her weapon holster, only to find it empty._

 _It poured the cookies and weapons down in front of her. "_ _ **Savor…"**_ _It continued._

 _Ruby looked all around more and saw that the warehouse was filled with the stuff… she likes. She slowly looked at the Yummy and realized what it was here for._

 _It was made from her desire._

" _No…. NO! This is all wrong!" She stood up, stomping her feet to get the Yummy's attention. "Disappear! Shoo!"_

 _It tilted its head before it approached her. "_ _ **Must gather favorites…"**_ _it presented black feathers before placing them on her cloak. The scythe wielder looked at her cloak and noticed it had more feathers pinned to it. "_ _ **To collect and savor your desire."**_

" _But you are stealing! I don't want any of this!"_

 _It got in front of her, pointing at her heart. "_ _ **You do want this… You desire these…"**_

" _Not anymore! I desire to be happy with my friends and see you Yummies and Greeed (except Ankh) disappear!" She glared, finding her Crescent Rose as she quickly grabbed it. Once unsheathed, she charged in, ready to slice its arm off._

 _She panted only to see that she couldn't, remembering that she needed a Cell Medal to use Core Energy and cut through it. It grabbed her weapon and tossed it with the other weapons._

" _ **It is what you desire…Gather. Collect. Savor."**_

" _Not anymore!" she growled, punching it, only to tend to her sore fist. "Just stop!"_

 _It shook its head, denying her plea before it flew to the window and left, continuing with what she desires._

 _For Ruby… She hugged her legs as the sound of whimpering was heard from it. She never thought that what happened to Nora, Weiss, and Jaune would happen to her._

" _Yang…. Enrique…. Someone… help me…" she pleaded._

* * *

The three of us made it back to Beacon but with the current tension right now, it was ominously silent for us. When we made it to Beacon, the others were wondering what happened and were shocked to learn that a Bird type Yummy was around and it came from Ruby's desire.

But Yang… she was nothappy _._ She was _pissed._

How do I know?

 ***** _ **WHAM**_ **!***

I winced as I saw Yang punch Ankh, sending him flying to a tree until he got up and scoffed before he perched himself on the branch above.

"You better have some explanation before I rip your feathers out of your skull!" Yang growled, her eyes already turned red as her hair boils with flames.

"Should I?" he huffed, looking at his Greeed arm. "It isn't my fault for someone like her to have a desire."

Her hair flared, her eyes burning with anger until I got in front of her.

"Yang, calm down!" I shouted. "Ankh wouldn't make a Yummy after so long!"

She turned to me, "And how would you know huh?! He is the only _Bird_ Greeed! There's no one else who would do this!" she shouted.

"You all remember what he said? He wouldn't waste a single Cell Medal from his own arm!" I pointed out. "Why would he make a Yummy when he told all of us he wouldn't waste a Medal since it only wastes his power."

She poked my chest, pushing me back from her, "Then explain to me why there is a Bird Yummy, running around with Ruby's desire?!"

"I…" I tried to find a good answer. "Look, I know Ankh. He has been with us these past two semesters. I know he can be a jerk but he would never do something like this, Yang."

She growled before striking the wall nearby, shattering it before turning to me, "You better find Ruby… And if she is hurt or worst… I will personally introduce you to the ground… And believe me…" she cracked her knuckles, "It will be intimate."

She turned away until I got hold of her shoulder. "Yang wait! This isn't my fau-" before I can finish, she punched me in the chest. She sent me sliding across the ground, causing me to cough upon the amount of force she put in the punch.

"SAVE IT!" she shouted, walking away from us.

I tried to reach out to explain to her but she was gone from my sights before I lowered my head.

"It… It wasn't my fault…" I muttered. Memories of what happened to my family came back in my head… The familiar feeling of the guilt and the blame I put on myself in the past …

I raised my head to the branch Ankh was perched at. "You have to know something Ankh! Why is there a Bird Yummy around!?"

"I don't know," he answered.

"Don't know? DON'T KNOW!?" I growled. "It was made from Ruby's desire! She is going to get hurt for Pete's sake!"

Ankh jumped down from the branch and pointed at me. "It's the consequence to having desires, Enrique. They have to live with it."

I tackled him to the ground as I held his collar. "I have to find her, Ankh! I can't risk losing someone again!"

"Then go find her instead of shouting like an idiot." He scoffed, tossing me back.

I stared at him before I began to make my way back to the bullhead. "One moment," I turned around, only for Ankh to toss me the the Core Medals for TaJaDol Combo, surprisingly.

"Why do you want me to hold onto them?" I asked.

"Just go before I change my mind." He crossed his arms.

I slowly nodded before making my way to the bullhead.

* * *

 _Ankh watched his charge head to the city before he turned around to see Yang who was glaring at Ankh, making him assume she saw the argument between him and Enrique._

" _Having the need to punch me again?" he huffed._

" _Thinking about it…" She glared. "I swear…. If you are responsible, Akira and I will put you in the dirt…" He rolled his eyes before walking to another bullhead. "And where do you think, you're going?" she asked._

" _To Vale," he answered. "I want to see something."_

 _Yang frowned before she got in front of him. "I'm going with you."_

" _Why should I allow that?" he raised an eyebrow._

" _Cause if you don't, then I'll break you again…" she glared at him. "Maybe even eat all of your ice cream too…"_

 _The Bird Greeed scoffed, "Whatever. Do what you want." He walked around her and made it to the bullhead with Yang following._

 _When the two made it to town, Ankh looked around in search for something. "What are we even doing?" she asked._

" _Wait for it."_

 _She glared at him before the sound of glass shattering made her look forward and saw the Crow Yummy._

" _ **Collect. Savor,"**_ _it said to them, eyeing Yang's Gauntlets. However when it saw Ankh, it growled. "_ _ **You… hand over the Red Cores."**_

 _Hearing this made Yang blink in surprise. Yummies, based on the type, would never demand the Cores from the source, and since the Yummy was a bird then it wouldn't demand Ankh for the Cores. Just what was going on?_

 _She then turned to Ankh, with a confused yet concerned look, "Does that mean there's another Bird Greeed? Was there a secret one made that you didn't know about?" she asked him._

" _How should I know?" he answered calmly but behind his eyes, he wanted to know what was going on. "And you thought I was the one responsible for using your sister as a Yummy host."_

 _She lowered her head slightly, realizing she was wrong and blamed him for nothing. Even more punching Enrique for protecting Ankh._

 _She looked up, "Wanna take this thing out together and make sure whoever made it knows not to mess with us?"_

" _Won't be enough," he informed. "It has gathered enough desire that it is already stronger as it is."_

" _What do we do?" She asked as she got herself ready to fight the approaching Yummy._

" _How about four against one?" A familiar voice asked. They turned around to see two familiar people, one that Yang was glad to see._

* * *

 _15 Minutes earlier…_

I was driving around the city in search for Ruby but every lead I got about the Yummy, it was back to square one. Feeling upset, I stopped the RideVendor and slammed my hand against the handlebar.

"Damn it…" I cursed.

I had to find Ruby…

The sound of cawing made me lift my head to see a black feather in which I looked up in the air to see the Yummy flying away as it was carrying its latest steal.

I looked at the feather in my hand before I closed my hand and I revved the engine. I followed after the Yummy. I remember how the Bird Yummy's always brought what the host desired to an area, right where the host was.

If what I remember was correct, then Ruby must be where the Yummy was heading to. I drove faster, not willing to let it escape from my sights until it eventually lead me to a warehouse.

Turning off the engine, I got off the bike and took cover, spying the Yummy as it was heading to a window. Seeing it enter through the window, I got closer and hid behind the wall before peeking from the corner to watch.

What felt like minutes, it finally left through the window and flew back to the city. I looked at the doors and saw they were boarded off but I wasn't letting it get in my way as I unsheathed Medajalibur and struck the wooden planks and lock.

Building up some of my Aura, I kicked the doors open. I was greeted by a large stash of cookies and weapons, no doubt the Yummy brought them here.

And then I heard crying…

Rushing down the hall, I made my way deeper into the warehouse until I was greeted by a giant nest. It was fairly large, like the nest of a Nevermore. Inhaling the air and exhaling, I got hold of the branches before I climbed up but slipped a few times. Getting annoyed, I reached in my pocket but I didn't have the Batta Core Medal with me since Ankh had the other Cores.

"Damn it…" I cursed before I attempted to climb up the nest again but every attempt made me fall down.

I didn't want to give up…

' _Promise you'll be there, big bro?'_ The memory of my little sister came back, causing me to grit my teeth.

I am not gonna repeat the same mistake… Not again. Mustering more strength, I climbed up more as I ignored the splinters I got from climbing or the tearing on my knees. After reaching the edge, I caught hold of it before I finally climbed over and rolled into the nest. There in front of me was a crying Ruby with her back facing me as she was hugging herself.

My eyes soften upon seeing her like this. The Yummy brought so much stuff that she liked, it made her realize that she was having too much and the Yummy must have told her about what she desired, making her cry. I slowly approached her but when my foot landed on a branch, she shivered.

"Please… I don't want it anymore…"

"Ruby, it's me." I called her.

She flinched, slowly looking up as she turns to me, tears run down her face as she jump at me, hugging my chest as she sobbed into it.

"I'm here Ruby, I'm here." I assured softly as I hugged her. "Everything is gonna be okay…"

"E-E-E-Enrique…" she tried to call my name out, but she was too scared to finish her sentence.

"Ruby, look at me." She slowly looked at me as I saw her eyes watery from the crying. "I won't let this happen to you again… I lost my sister already but I don't want to lose someone who reminds me too much of her. I am getting you out of here and we are gonna teach that Yummy who it's messing with." I presented her Crescent Rose. "You are a leader, Ruby Rose. Let's show that Yummy how the leader of Team RWBY fights."

She looked up at me, wiping her tears as she smiled, nodding as she took her weapon, getting it ready along with me.

"How are we gonna get out of this nest?" She asked.

I pondered for a moment until I remembered I also have the three red Cores. Wait… So that was why Ankh gave them to me… He knew that the Bird Yummies make large nest. Reaching in my pocket, I grabbed the O-Driver and placed it on my waist, the belt forming before I grabbed the three Red Cores.

"Enrique, you still aren't used to that Combo." Ruby got out, concerned.

"It will be alright Ruby. As long as you are okay then I'm okay." I assured before I placed in the red Cores and scanned them. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **KUJAKU!**

 **CONDOL!**

 **TA~JA~DOL!**

The blazing aura surrounded me before I was donned in the TaJaDol combo.

I spread my arms out with wings forming on my back. I looked at Ruby before I picked her up in a bridal hold. "Hang on tight." I informed.

Ruby nodded, gripping around me as tight as she could, to make sure she didn't fall. I took to the air and flew through the window to head back to the city. Ruby slowly opened her eyes as she saw the view below us.

"I'm sorry…" Ruby looked at me, confused. "I… I'm sorry I couldn't be there to prevent whoever made you a Yummy host… if I had known sooner…"

"Truth be told… I didn't even see who planted it inside me…. All I could hear… was what sounded like a child laughing." she told me.

"A child laughing…?" I repeated. She nodded. Wait so whoever placed in the Cell Medal… I recalled the memories of myself when I was 17, watching the show as I recalled one Greeed taking the form of a child….

It can't be… could it?

Shaking my head, I looked at Ruby.

"Did you remember anything else?" I asked.

"There was that red feather that flew off in the wind." She pointed out, "Why?"

"I… I don't know…" I responded before I took notice of the area below, seeing Ankh and Yang going against the Crow Yummy. "Ready, Ruby?" I asked the young huntress.

"Ready!"

I smiled under my helmet before I landed on the rooftop. "How about we make this a four VS one fight?" I suggested to Ankh and Yang, the two looking up to see Ruby and I.

"RUBY!" Yang smiled, sighing in relief as the young huntress jumped into her arms, the two hugging quickly before she placed her sister down. As she did, Yang handed her sister some Cell Medals to help out as the scythe-wielder placed a Medal in the slot of her scythe. The Crow Yummy glared at us, still focused on Yang's gauntlets as it tossed its feathers at them, the feathers speeding through the air like daggers as the three dodged them in time, as they impale on the wall behind them.

I made the peacock tail feathers appear behind me as the Yummy produced its feathers before the both of us tossed our respective projectiles at each other. However, with the energy-shaped feathers, it was useless as the Yummy had the speed necessary to 'outgun' the energy I shot at it. When the feathers hit me, sparks casted off my armor as I stumbled a bit.

"Back off!" Yang glared, as she and Ruby sent rounds of Core Energized Bullets at the Crow Yummy as some Cell Medals flew off its body. Ankh quickly reached the Yummy as he slashed, punched and struck the Yummy, making more Cell Medals fall off before kicking it away.

" **Gather… Collect… must savor…"** It growled as it tossed more feathers at us causing us to take cover as it was tossing its feathers at an alarming rate.

"Great, how are we gonna get through that chicken's sharp feathers!?" Yang called out.

Ankh pondered before reaching in his jacket and pulled out the Medal Book, seeing the Core Medals inside. He looked at each Combo we currently had before grabbing Shachi, Unagi, and Tako.

"Oi, Enrique!" He tossed the Medals to me. Seeing the combo in my hands before replacing TaJaDol with ShaUTa. I began to feel more exhaustion from my body since I would be using two combos in a row but I chose to ignore it and scan the Medals.

 **SHACHI!**

 **UNAGI!**

 **TAKO!**

 **SHA-SHA-SHAUTA! SHA-SHA-SHAUTA!**

Now in the Marine Combo, I got up as I focused on the Combo's power, the feathers flying through me as they only phased through water. I charged through the barrage of feathers before using the Unagi Whips to lash out on it. Each hit was very effective as the next hit caused it to release its bag of stolen weapons and cookies before it decided to retreat.

"Oh no you don't!" I called out before using the whip to grab hold of its leg, delivering a shock to its body. Its body began twitching before sparks flew off of it's body, making more Medal drop before it send out a torrent of feathers, not caring where it went and who it struck.

"Incoming bogies!" Ruby pointed out, several feathers flying towards them.

I immediately focused on the power again but more exhaustion was overcoming my body, causing me to realize that I will pass out if I don't finish off the Yummy soon. Using some of the remaining breath in me, I quickly scanned the Medals in the Driver.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

I used the other whip to grab hold of the Yummy before I took to the air as the Tako Legs formed. I pulled myself towards the yummy and delivered a drill attack to it, finally piercing through it as it exploded into Cell Medals.

I landed on my two feet and breathed heavily upon the usage of the two Combos before I fell to my knees as the armor dispelled to reveal myself.

"Woah there! Easy cowboy." Yang said, holding me as she helped me by, draping my arm around her neck. "No more Combos for the rest of the day, young man."

"R-Right…" I responded weakly before looking up at Ankh.I handed him back his Cores. "I understand why you… lent me the three Cores… you wanted me to use them… to save Ruby…"

Ankh, took the Cores, turning away as he began to walk towards the pile of Cell Medals, staying silent before stopping, "I am a teacher…. It… is my job to protect you all as well…"

"So you do care about us, bird brain." Yang teased.

He glared at us, "I am only doing this to make sure none of you screw up." He then turned away to pick up the Cell Medals that were on the ground.

Yang giggled, "He's worried." She said to us, rubbing Ruby's hair playfully. "Come on, let's head to the dorm." We nodded as Yang helped me walk as Ruby was ahead of the both of us. "Hey Enrique."

"Yeah?" I asked the blonde.

"Thank you for saving Ruby," She thanked.

"Didn't I tell you before? She's your little sister," I reminded. "I rather not see you suffer if anything were to happen to her."

"True." she smiled, looking to see Ruby ahead. "Heh, wonder if Blake will try to be your nurse for today?"

"Huh? What do you mean by that?" I blinked in confusion.

"Oh, you'll find out once we're back and she sees your state," she chuckled.

"Whatever…" I sighed weakly but I was still left with questions to what was going on. How is there a Bird Yummy here? I swear, I know I saw this before but I just can't remember it.

XXX

 _Up upon a tower, a figure was watching from above, seeing the city below, the curiosity in its mind to see such wonders. It kicked its legs in the air before letting out a childish giggle. As feathers flew in the wind, a glimpse could be seen from its arm. It was an arm that was identical to Ankh's, only this was a left arm._

" _ **Where is it…?"**_ _the voice wondered before it vanished in a cloud of red feathers._

* * *

The four of us finally made it back to Beacon as the others were relieved to see Ruby okay but after what happened, she wasn't in the mood to stuff her face with cookies or geek out over weapons. To be honest… it got me concerned. Sure she likes weapons and cookies but right now, I wanted to do something to help her. But sadly… I couldn't right now since I had to recover from the use of two Combos, one being the TaJaDol and I still had to get use to its power. With Ankh, Yang and the others even Akira apologizing to Ankh for blaming him on making the Yummy from Ruby.

I sighed, relaxing on my bed as I decide to rest up for now, but as I rest, the door opens as Blake came in, a soft smile on her face as she walked over and sit on the edge of my bed.

"How you feeling, Enrique?" She asked me.

I chuckled softly, "I'm okay… I just need rest is all since using TaJaDol and another Full Combo took a lot out of me…"

"You really shouldn't use too many Full Combos one after another…." she cautioned with a worried frown.

"It was either do something or make Yang more worries about Ruby than she already is."

"I know…. but who knows what long term exposure could do…" Blake said to me, "I… don't want you to get hurt…."

"I'll be fine, Blake…" I assured. "If everyone is okay then I'm okay."

"But I won't be!" she shouted, surprising me from hearing her tone for once. "I know you care about everyone…. But if you got hurt or worse, I…. I don't know what I would do…"

I looked at Blake, surprised to hear something like that from her. "Blake…" My eyes soften upon her statement. Not one time, anyone had ever said something like that to me.

Not once.

"So please…. Don't ever think like that… You're important to everyone, to me Enrique…" Blake said softly, hugging me gently as she could.

I looked at Blake before I slowly wrapped my arms around her. "I… I promise I will stay alive…" I responded. A soft purr could be heard, as she crawled into the bed, resting with me as well. A blush on my face as I smile softly at her.

"B-Blake?" I stuttered slightly.

"I…. just want to.. rest here with you… Is… that a problem?" she asked.

"I-I..." I tried to find the right response before I gulped. "Well… a-alright... "

She smiled, holding me closer as the purring grew louder. I didn't know why I would accept it but the unknown feeling I have been having kept coming back when she was close. And now, my heart was beating fast…

What was this odd feeling?

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x2)**

 **Kujaku (x1)**

 **Condor (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x1)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Kobura (x1)**

 **Kame (x1)**

 **Wani (x1)**

 **Shachi (x1)**

 **Unagi (x1)**

 **Tako (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

 **Zou (x2)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

 _ **"You hold an interesting desire, General..."**_ _Uva presents a Medal_ _ **. "Let's see how strong the Yummy will be, born from your desire for power, to be a stronger force."**_

We watched as cell medals were visible on its chest, a green glow surrounding its body. "What in the world is going on with the Yummy!?" Weiss asked.

I slammed my fists together as I felt the familiar surge of power course through me, "Time for a beatdown!" I declared.

 **Next Time:** Strength, Destroy, The Gravity's Return

* * *

 **A/N:** Well that is it for this chapter folks! I hope you all enjoy the first chapter of The Return arc. I know you all can guess who was the one who placed in the cell medal on Ruby and now, the bond between Blake and the Rider is growing. What will happen now? Well, you all have to find out next time. Don't forget to check out my other stories and look forward to my upcoming God Eater story, **The Path of a Blood**. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	26. Chapter 25: Strength, Gravity's Return

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 25th chapter of OOO and I hope you all enjoy the previous chapter that started the Return Arc! Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etcn., but no Birth [Maybe]).

Also, as I said before, this stories will be updated more often than usual since RWBY Volume 4 is coming out soon.

Don't forget to check out my other stories as well.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _As night time was around at Beacon academy, Cinder was going over what Emerald told her. At first she thought it was impossible but after hearing more when Emerald spied on Blake and Enrique, she learned more about, shockingly and surprisingly, the world he is from._

" _Is this true?" Cinder asked calmly._

" _Every word of it." Emerald reached to her pocket and presented something she managed to steal._

 _A photo that showed Enrique and some people with him but what caught Cinder's interest was the background. It wasn't anything she seen before during her travels around Remnant._

" _I managed to get one of those photos he had from the dorm he and the Bird Greeed stay in before they could notice," she explained._

 _Cinder looked at it, a grin appearing on her face. "That explains everything…." she turned to Emerald, "Anything else to tell me?" Emerald looked nervous before bringing out her scroll to show a certain image of the rider kissing Blake._

 _Oddly enough, cinder's hand gripped tightly. She didn't like that image one bit. "I see…. That will be all Emerald."_

 _The said young woman nodded before heading to her bed while Cinder looked at the photo once more. It now explained why he has no record. He wasn't from here at all. He was from another world._

 _Another world._

 _Seeing the image, she studied it and noticed that the terrain that was unfamiliar to her had no signs of any… any Grimm…_

 _A world without Grimm yet there is a possibility some conflict, judging how the photo showed the Rider and possibly a person he knows, being by a forest. It was interesting to her to learn that there is life in other worlds. But now… now she knows where he is from._

 _However that image Emerald showed her earlier. It infuriated her to learn that the kunoichi is getting closer to her person of interest. If that Rider continues to get closer to the Faunus kunoichi, her plan to have OOO on her side will be ruined._

" _I shall not let you turn to that Faunus…. Not anymore…" She said, gripping her fist tightly._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 25: Strength, Destroy, The Gravity's Return**

A couple of days have past since I recovered from using ShaUTa and TaJaDol, using two Full Combos in a row. Who knew that it actually put a lot of strain to my body, one of the combos I am still trying to get used to. And right now, I was relaxing for once on the rooftops. I know the tournament is 5 weeks away but I needed some relaxation from all the training and fighting.

Although… I couldn't forget what happened a couple of days ago. Not only Blake stayed with me during my rest… but Ruby hasn't been her usual self after what happened when a Yummy was born from her desire. It got me more worried since she hasn't talked about weapons like usual or devour any cookies recently….

"Hey there." I blink, turning my head to see Pyrrha there, "Mind if I sit with you?"

"Sure," I answered. The redhead sat down as I return to gazing at the sky.

Pyrrha looked at me for a moment before asking, "Is something bothering you?"

I lowered my head before letting out a sigh, "To be honest… I'm worried about Ruby. She hasn't got back to her usual since after what happened several days ago..."

"I know…. But… I'm sure she'll be fine. While she is only a few years younger, she hasn't had much time to get past certain hardships. It'll take her some time, but she will bounce back. We all did." Pyrrha said, a soft smile on her face.

"I hope so…" I raised my head. "I'm still left with questions though too…"

"You mean the Yummy?"

"Yeah. How is there a Bird Yummy? I mean, Ankh doesn't want to waste any Cell Medals and even using one, wastes his power." I replied. "Ruby mentioned the childish laugh and…" I reached in my pocket before presenting her the red feather. "This."

"Do you think, the Greeed found a way to use one of Ankh's cores? That Kazari creep did with Gamel and Mezool's, why not Ankh's?" Pyrrha pointed out.

"If he did, then it would have produced a hybrid Yummy." I reminded. "The Yummy was only a bird type, not a hybrid."

"Then… is it possible they somehow made a way to create a new Greeed?"

I scratched my head to ponder for a moment before I gripped it. "Ah, this is getting frustrating!" I complained. Seriously, I swear I recall why Ankh couldn't get his real body but just what was it?

"Heh, let's change the subject then…." Pyrrha giggled. She sat there, quiet as she fiddled with her fingers, "Do… you know some way to get through Jaune's head?" She asked, her bangs covering her face as she gains a soft blush.

"Eh?" I blinked, turning my head to her. "What do you mean…?" I stared at her for what felt like minutes until I realized it, pointing at her. "Oh! You like Jaune!"

"SHH!" she placed her hands over my mouth, her blush now all over her face, "Don't say such things out loud…."

I slowly nodded, the amazon moving her hands away before looking around to make sure no one heard it. "I've…. Kinda always liked him… When we first met, he didn't know who I was… Only saw me as another girl….." She said, a soft smile forming on her face.

"But you are nervous about telling him?" I assumed.

"Heh, nervous? More like tried to lay the hints on him…. But as usual with other things, it's through one ear and out the other…." She sighed. "He only seems interested in Weiss… Maybe I should start acting the same?"

I blinked before it started out as a chuckle before laughing. "J-Jaune… l-liking Weiss? HAHAHAHA!" I laughed. "Weiss doesn't even like Jaune!"

She glared at me, quickly making me shut up. "Don't you think I know that? But he has tried his best to win her heart. You've seen his antics these past few months." She pointed out.

"Yeah and to be honest, he won't have any luck." I admitted.

"But you know him…. Just like becoming a Hunter, he won't ever stop till he either wins, or gets crushed… And we know that Weiss isn't heartless to crush him." Pyrrha noted.

I sighed before placing my hands in my pockets. "Pyrrha… look, there comes a time when the person has to stop, no matter what your status is, who you are or how old your are…." I muttered. "If you don't stop… you only suffer the consequences…"

"I know…. But…. I'm worried he will only see me as that… A friend…." She lowered her head.

"'A man's decision is another man's action'" I quoted, making her confused. "You have to make the choice or it will only cause Jaune to continue to see you as that, Pyrrha."

"I've tried! What else can I do? Kiss him?" she huffed.

"No. Just tell him, upfront and be honest with your feelings. Remind him why you have feelings for him, remind him that going for one thing isn't the right way to go."

Pyrrha had her head lowered still unsure before standing up, "Thanks for the talk Enrique…" she said walking off, possibly to her dorm.

Hearing the door to the building close, I slumped my shoulders, "So much for advice…" I complained. I didn't understand one thing about...

 _That word…_

"Something on your mind?" I sigh, turning my head once more only to be greeted by Blake. "I was wondering where you went to." She said, sitting close to me. "You sure, being up is a good thing? You're still in recovering."

"I'll be okay," I assured with a soft smile. "I'm already able to move around without the exhaustion getting to me. Besides, I wanted to relax for a bit after that fight a couple of days ago "

"Heh, I can understand why." She giggled, "You don't mind if I join you?"

"Uh… Sure, I don't mind the company since Pyrrha was here earlier," I shrugged.

Blake smiled softly, scooting a bit closer to me. I don't know why, but everything started to get warm. I don't know why this happens to me whenever I'm near her now. It was the strange feeling that keeps coming back whenever I'm near Blake… It felt… comforting really.

"Aww! Lookie at the couple." Yang's voice chuckled out nearby.

Blake and I quickly moved away from each other before turning around to see her holding her Scroll, taking a picture. "Y-Yang!" I flustered.

"Why did you two move away?" She crossed her arms, "It was just getting juicy."

Blake glared at Yang before grabbing her Gambol Shroud. " _Yang_ …" she growled out.

Yang gulped, backing up a bit, "H-Hey now Blake…. Don't do anything... R-reckless. I'm your partner!" She pleaded.

"Delete that photo. _Now_ ," she demanded.

"B-But-!" Yang argued.

Blake's glare increased, I swore she was growling. Yang sighed in defeat, tapping away as she holds up her scroll, showing the message 'Photo's deleted' on the screen.

"Good," The kunoichi nodded.

"Er… I think I should go now," I said.

Blake turned, a small frown on her face, "You.. don't want to stay a bit longer?"

"I do but I want to see how Ruby's doing," I answered, trying to not make her upset. "You two realize she hasn't been herself after what happened."

Yang lowers her head, "Even Zwei isn't cheering her up…."

"We… should do something." Blake added on before looking at Yang. "Do you have any ideas?"

"I…" She tried to find an answer but she couldn't. "I've tried… and nothing worked. I'm worried about her."

I began my thoughts on what should help Ruby, I mean there has to be something to bring her back to her old self… She hasn't talked a lot about weapons or ate her favorite snacks. Hell, she hasn't messed around much with her weapon either.

Wait…

"I think I might know a way to help Ruby," I informed, the two members of RWBY turning their heads to me.

"What is it?" The blonde asked.

"I'll explain it when we see Ruby," I replied before the three of us went back inside the school to find Ruby.

* * *

 _General Ironwood was staring out from his ship, watching the people below seeing no trouble… so far…_

 _The monsters, the Greeed, were monsters of desires and remembering what they do, they were bound to see the upcoming festival as a gold mine for making soldiers called Yummies henceforth more security to the area. Even if the true enemy attempt to strike again like last time at the CCT._

 _Ever since the Gamel Incident months ago, Ankh mocked the general and his own military force that they were unable to ever harm the Greeed. His weapons were far more advanced than any military force in Remnant and yet the Greeed and Yummies shrug them off easily like it was nothing._

 _Even more hearing that a Huntsman that the annoying Qrow knows has weapon and armor that is capable of harming the Yummies and Greeed._

" _Vale has gotten more dangerous than I thought…" Ironwood sighed._

 _He has been keeping tabs on that student at Beacon, the user of OOO. He was informed that he already obtained nearly all of the powers of OOO._

 _And now with Akira, aka Birth, helping them, they displayed the use of the power of Core Medals for OOO and the power of cell medals for Birth._

 _Even more he has been hearing that, Team RWBY and Team JNPR have some special equipment to damage the Greeed and Yummies. Though right now, he is more of wondering who armed these kids with that kind of tech, along with the special suit to a Huntsman? And if they're willing to share it to his troops and the rest of Atlas? He needed to have some way to use it if he wants to keep the people of Vale safe from the Greeed._

" _I wonder if Akira would allow me to examine his belt?" Ironwoods pondered before pressing a few keys. On the screen, it showed a young woman with hair white as the snow, wearing a special type of Atlas uniform._

 _This was Winter Schnee, Weiss' older sister._

" _Winter. If I recall, you know of Akira, correct?" He asked her._

 _Hearing the name made her raise an eyebrow. "I have, sir. The Wandering Doctor to what he calls himself." She confirmed. "I met him before during a mission."_

" _I have a special assignment for you. I want you to try and figure out where Akira got that belt, as well as keeping an eye on a certain student. I'm sure your sister told of you about him." Ironwood ordered._

 _Winter nodded, but recalling a certain 'Bird' who has an attitude to disrespect people even to those of authority. Maybe it's about time to talk to that bird if she evers sees him. "Yes, sir." She nodded before the screen vanished._

 _Ironwood turned around to talk to the criminal, Torchwick again but by the door was a man with slicked back green hair, wearing a green jacket and a black shirt, black trousers and sneakers._

" _Who are you?" Ironwood warned, slowly reaching for the weapon from his side._

 _The man grinned before he moved his arm, showing two fingers and was enveloped in cell medals that glowed a green color. Once it died down, it revealed none other than Uva, the Insect Greeed._

 _"_ _ **You hold an interesting desire, General..**_ _." Uva presents a Medal. "_ _ **Let's see how strong the Yummy will be, born from your desire for power, to be a stronger force."**_

" _As if I'll let you use me in your schemes." He said, pointing the gun at the Greeed before taking a powerful shot that forced the Greeed back to the near ends of the room._

 _The general saw the Greeed chuckle as he simply shrugged it off. "_ _ **Consent is nothing to what I will do,"**_ _he smirked, approaching the general, the latter firing rounds but each one was useless before the Insect got close with the medal._

 _A slot formed on the general's forehead, allowing the Greeed to toss it in. Ironwood froze as a green void formed on his back before a Yummy crawled out._

" _ **Power is everything and now we shall see it what it can cause,"**_ _Uva mused._

 _Ironwood quickly blinked before he saw there was no one around. He stood up, taking out his scroll before dialing someone. "Ozpin. We have a problem…"_

* * *

Yang, Blake, and I continued our search for Ruby since she wasn't in their dorm. So we looked around the school in search for her. It took us awhile but we found her by the training arena.

"There you are Ruby," Yang called out.

She turned to us slowly, a weak smile on her facing, trying to hide what happened, "Hey guys….. What's going on?"

"Ruby, we know something is wrong." I said. "Look, it's not your fault for what happened a couple of days ago."

The young huntress turned away, holding her arms, "It was Enrique…. If I was just more aware on what was around me…. Aware of that Greeed…. I could've done something…. Or at least ran away from it…. But I was careless and spawned a Yummy…." She closed her eyes tightly, wanting to forget it.

I approached her and knelt down, placing my hand on her shoulder. "Ruby it isn't something to feel guilty about. Weiss, Blake, Nora, and Jaune went through the same thing." I pointed out. "They may have realized what happened but they learned something from it too."

She looks at me, "But… I caused a lot of grief on the other students because of that Yummy…. How can I ever apologize to them?"

"Do they say you did it?" She shook her head. "That is because the Yummy was responsible, not you. I understand how you feel but you know what it couldn't do?"

"What?" Ruby looked at me.

"Fulfill your dream. It's because only you can achieve that." I answered, pointing at where her heart would be. "Something you have to reach by doing your best. A dream isn't something to desire, it's something you want to achieve to the very end."

She looked at me, her eyes widen slightly. "A dream is something to also cherish, Ruby." I finished.

"A dream…." She said softly, looking at her hands for a moment, a soft smile finally appearing on her face as jumps up, wrapping her arms around my neck as she hugs me tightly, "Thank you Enrique…. I needed to hear that."

"You need to teach me that. I could save so much time on it." Yang smiled, walking up to us.

I chuckled softly as Ruby and I got up. "It's something I learned." I admitted.

"Still, thank you Enrique." Ruby smiled, "Wanna go get some cookies?"

"Sure," I smiled before looking at Yang and Blake. "Wanna come along?"

"You might want to raincheck, Enrique." We turned our heads as Ozpin and Ironwoods walks towards us. "We need your help." Ozpin requested.

"Huh?" I blinked.

"It's because of a Yummy is around." Ankh said as we saw him by the window. "And it came from old general over there." He grinned, as if he was glad for once.

"And I would… appreciate it… if you can help me track that thing down and destroy it." Ironwoods said, almost embarrassed he would fall as well.

"No problem," I nodded. "I'm sure Akira already knows that there is a Yummy around so we would meet up to beat it."

"Good. Let's move out." Ankh said before he grabbed me by the collar of my jacket and dragged me away.

* * *

Ankh and I along with Akira and team RWBY, we split up in groups since it was better to search for the Yummy faster. With Ankh and I, Weiss and Blake decided to partner with us for the hunt for the Yummy.

"Any idea what the General's Yummy, looks like?" Weiss turned to me.

"No idea," I shrugged. "Ask Ankh."

I got a back slap to my head, making me look at Ankh. "What was that for?" I asked.

"For putting me into the conversation." He answered in annoyance. "As for the Yummy, it hasn't matured yet but I can tell it is gathering cell medals for its desire as we speak."

"Think we're getting closer?" Blake asked.

"From what I can tell." He answered as he stopped us. We were confused at first until we saw one of those gang members flying past us as if someone tossed him like a ragdoll. "It's here."

Blake and Weiss quickly grabbed their respective weapons while I placed the O-Driver on my waist with the Bird Greeed handing me the King Combo to place in.

"Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

The crests aligned before I was in the OOO armor with the Medajalibur unsheathes. We headed to the source and before we knew it, we saw the Yummy beating a gang member to a pulp. " **Terminate threats…"** it said as it was punching the gang member.

"Wait, is it trying to be a cop or a vigilante?" Weiss pointed out the confusion.

"From what I can tell from that Atlas bastard," Ankh mocked. "He wants to keep 'peace' after what has been going on. In other words, his desire is to _terminate_ any threats. And I mean _any_ threat."

"Terminate… As in…" I realized. Weiss and Blake gasped as an audible snap can be heard. The Yummy dropped the gang member to the ground, as his head was twisted all the way around.

"Death. Yes." Ankh frowned as the Yummy then turned to us.

" **Rogue vigilante. Greeed. Ex-White Fang."** It said, slowly walking towards us. " **Threats… terminate threats."**

"Weiss contact Akira and the others about the Yummy, Blake and I will try to hold it off." I insisted as Blake charged it before I followed, the both of us delivering a few strikes onto its hide but shockingly, it's own wrappings were sturdy.

Wait, a Bug Yummy with sturdy wrappings? Where have I seen this before?

I got out of my thoughts when it tried to reach for me, causing me to move away before using the Batta Legs to kick it away from me.

Weiss dialed away as the screen showed Ruby, "Ruby! Tell Yang and Akira that we found the Yummy!"

" _Well, 'we've' got our own problems!"_ Yang shouted as Ruby showed Weiss the small group of Trash Yummies in front of them.

"Divide and conquer," Ankh chuckled. "Uva is finally understanding through that stubborn brain of his."

" **Threat, terminate threats…"** It groaned as it tried to harm us but every chance it had, we pushed it away due to its wrappings. " **You won't harm the peace… I will** _ **terminate**_ **threats!"**

Before we knew it, the Yummy's wrappings began to molt like a bug before a new Yummy took its place, causing my jaw to drop under my helmet.

From head to toe, it was covered completely in dark brown or light brown armour. Its chest was light brown with a red disk on the collarbone with more red disks near the abs. The rest was jagged dark brown armor that looked incredibly thick. Its shoulders were large with more spikes rising up out of the carapace. Orange fur stuck from the elbow joints, which was the only other colour the creature had. Two curved blades came from each of its wrists, looking perfect for cutting something. Its legs had segmented brown armour covering them with more orange fur at the knees. Lastly it's face was humanoid, but orange. The rest of the head was a helmet of brown armour what ended with a stag beetle head on top.

It was the Stag Beetle Yummy from the OOO series. I knew I saw that type of Yummy somewhere!

" **Terminate threats,"** It said, clutching its claws.

"Seems we need to hurry this up." Blake frowned, taking a few shots at the Yummy. It rushed towards us as the rounds literally didn't stop it as of the Yummy's carapace was thick enough to shrug off the rounds.

" **Terminate!"**

My eyes widen before I pushed Blake aside, the Yummy's claws striking my armor instead, sparks casting off as I yelped in pain. Weiss charged in with her rapier to strike it but it couldn't pierce through its skin either. " **Threat!"** It noted before lunging its fistt at the heiress.

"Weiss look out!" Blake called out.

The heiress quickly brought up a glyph to shield herself but the Yummy kept going on and on to get through. Getting over the pain, I looked at Ankh. "Ankh, I need Gorilla!" I exclaimed to the Bird Greeed on the rooftop.

Ankh was about to argue until he saw my reason, a small smirk forming on his face. "Interesting," he mused before grabbing the Gorilla core from the book and tossed it to me.

Catching the medal, I switched Tora with Gorilla and scanned the medals once again.

 **TAKA!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **BATTA!**

With Tora Claws replaced with Gori Bagons, I marched towards the Yummy and punched it in the face, sending it stumbling and away from Weiss before it could break through her glyph. "You okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah I'm fine…." She stood back up, "Though why wasn't it after me though? Before I hit it, it wasn't trying to harm me."

"That was because it didn't see you as a threat, Princess," Ankh huffed. "But since you harmed it, it now sees you as one. Good for you." He said sarcastically. "Now beat that Yummy so I can cell medals before that Akira idiot does!"

"Can't you try and be helpful for once?" Weiss huffed. "You keep making us do the hard work while you sit around and get fat on that ice cream."

"In case you know, I'm the one providing help to the oblivious idiot," he reminded. "And secondly, I don't get fat from ice candy."

"You really are a jerk," Weiss frowned as I kept on punching the Yummy.

"I'm doing what I can so you lot can live through the fights against the Yummy and Greeed," he argued as Blake blocked one of its incoming strikes before countering it with a few shots from her Gambol Shroud.

"Guys," I called out as Blake and I continue to stop the Yummy while Weiss and Ankh were arguing.

"Excuse me? At least I don't act rude to all the students you teach!" Weiss shot back at Ankh.

"Guys," I called out again as I finally saw a green glow slowly increasing on the Yummy's body.

"Oh yeah? At least I am not the one who wants to act all that high and mighty like you do often, _Tsundere_." He countered.

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!" Weiss shouted.

"YOU GUYS!" Blake and I shouted to the two.

"What!?" They barked at the both of us before they too began to notice the Stag Beetle glowing, cell medals forming on its chest.

"What is it doing?" Weiss asked.

* * *

 _Ironwood was pacing back and forth as Ozpin and Glynda were seeing his current mood. No doubt he was angry that he was caught off guard when Uva made a Yummy from him. "You should calm down, James." Ozpin advised._

" _No Ozpin!" He shouted, "I let my guard down… ME! I should've tossed that freak off of my craft when I had the chance."_

" _You do recall them unable to be harmed by normal weaponry."_

" _But still affected by gravity. He would've fall and I wouldn't have spawned that thing." He argued. "Even more learning that two teams and a Huntsman having the equipment to harm those Greeed." He turned to them, "I should've been informed and given the schematics for it, that way my troops can stop them"_

" _Even I don't know where they got that type of gear needed." Ozpin informed before he took a sip from his mug, hiding the grin on his face before setting it down. He knew that Kougami made the attachments for Team RWBY and Team JNPR along with the armor for Akira but chose to not tell Ironwood._

" _Ozpin, this is a serious matter!" Ironwood snapped. "Those Greeed have caused as much trouble as the White Fang! We need to know more if we are to stop them, even if some of your students are able to!"_

" _James, you know as much as I do that they can stop those Greeed from causing further destruction like last time with that gray Greeed," the headmaster frowned._

" _These kids are not ready to deal with something like that. You know as well as I, that if one of those Greeed's killed one of them, the trauma would make them stop." Ironwood's pointed out._

 _Ozpin became quiet as Ironwood continued. "What is needed is for my troops to be capable of handling those monsters. If we are to have stronger gear then we won't have to worry about those Greeed."_

* * *

We watched as cell medals were visible on its chest, the green glow surrounding its body. "What in the world is going on with the Yummy!?" Weiss asked.

Her question was answered as a new Yummy literally crawled out of the Stag Beetle Yummy. The Yummy was the same in terms of bug-armor, but this Yummy had some chains on its muscular body as it had a single horn to that of a Rhino Beetle on its head.

It was the Rhino Beetle Yummy. Just like from the show… oh great.

"What!?" Ankh got out, surprised to see a Yummy form from another Yummy.

" **More…Power... Become stronger..."** The Rhino Beetle Yummy said.

The Stag Beetle Yummy reached its hand out before clutching it, as if it was crushing something. " **To terminate the threats…"** It finished as if the two Yummies come from the desire that involves two things at once:  Become stronger to terminate the threat.

"That's not a good sign…." Weiss gulped.

The Rhino Beetle Yummy charged towards us, causing me to use the Gori Bagons to stop it but instead, I received a headbutt to the chest as it was ramming me to the wall.

"Enrique!" The two turn around to see the Stag Beetle Yummy charging towards the two.

" **Terminate!"** It roared out, the two Huntresses quickly avoiding its attack before it punched Weiss away then grabbed Blake by the throat and threw her to the heiress, the two falling onto the ground.

"These things are just as strong as Yang…" Blake gritted in pain.

"Think they'll get here in time?" Weiss asked.

"Incoming!"

We looked up to see a falling Ruby as she used her Crescent Rose to help her break her fall as each round she shot hit the Stag Beetle Yummy.

"Ruby? How did you get here from the air?" I asked as she safely landed.

"YYYYEEEEHHHHAAAAWWWW!" Yang came flying through, smacking the two Yummies into the ground, making a crater and a shockwave from the blow.

"That's how." Ruby smiled. "Mr. Akira helped out with the idea."

"Eh?"

Our confusion was stopped when we saw Birth in the air as he was equipped with the Cutter Wings on the back of his armor, landing in front of us. "Yo."

"Of course…" Weiss rolled her eyes. "I can see where Ruby thought of that idea like at the initiation."

"Hey! I have great ideas." She huffed.

"A little help here!" We looked at Yang as she and the Rhino Yummy were neck and neck while the Stag Beetle Yummy rushed towards her until Weiss used a glyph to make it slip on ice.

"Let's try to hold them off," Birth suggested.

"Right," we nodded before I helped Yang since I was equipped with Gori Bagons while Ruby, Blake, Weiss, and Birth handle Stag Beetle Yummy.

" **Become stronger…"** It growled as it blocked Yang's punch before it dodged my punch.

"Time to blow it up, girls!" Birth turned to Ruby and the others. They quickly unload several rounds into the Stag Beetle Yummy, forcing it back, "Ruby, Blake, cut it up! Weiss, speed them up with one of your glyph things." He ordered.

"What about you?" Weiss asked.

Birth chuckled as he placed in a cell medal into the driver, twisting the knob until it opened.

 _ **BREAST CANNON!**_

Before they knew it, a large cannon formed on his chest, the Huntsman grabbing the handles. "This." He grinned.

"So! Awesome!" Ruby smiled brightly.

"How many weapons does that suit have?" Weiss questioned.

"Less talk, more Yummy smashing." Birth smirked.

They nodded before charging towards the Yummy as Akira placed in a cell medal as it began to charge up, the three girls holding it off so he can get a clear shot.

 _ **CELL BURST!**_

A red energy orb began to form on the barrel of the cannon. "Now move!" The girls quickly moved back as the energy reached it's peak. "Breast Cannon. SHOOT!" He shouted, pulling the trigger as a large blast of energy shot out, but a quick burst of electricity struck him as the shot missed the Yummy, sending the large energy out past into the sky. "Eh?"

The Yummy's quickly made their escape upon the attack as the rest of us looked around. "Uva, surprised to see you prevent him from killing the Yummy," Ankh said from the rooftop, causing us to look back and see the Insect Greeed.

" **I'm letting the Yummies do as they please,** his mandibles clicked into a smirk. " **They are powerful indeed if you all had trouble. I won't allow the loss of valuable Yummy."**

"Then bring it, bug!" Yang growled.

Uva huffed before his body turned into cell medals. " **Not this time."** His voice echoes before he was gone from our sights.

"Great, now we have to worry about two Yummies and we don't know where they went!" Ruby complained.

"You're telling me…" I groaned, rubbing my chest armor as I reverted back to civilian form. "Those Yummy have thick shells, even withstanding Yang's punches…"

"Tell me about it…." Yang gritted, rubbing her knuckles. "It felt like punching diamonds…."

Birth removed the cell medal from his belt before reverted to civilian form to pick up the milk tank full of cell medals. "We need rest…" He pointed out. "You all are already worn out as it is from the fight, even I need rest and a bowl of Oden."

"Aw… I wanted to look at more of your weapons!" Ruby whined.

"Another time, Ruby," Akira chuckled, patting her head. "But it looks like you are your old self again." Ruby nodded with a smile. "Come on, let's head back."

* * *

The return to Beacon was a little quiet but it wasn't that quiet since Ruby has been talking to Akira about the weapons the Birth System has which he didn't know how they work since he doesn't read _any_ manual.

Eventually we made it to the school as we exited the bullhead, being greeted with Ironwood and Ozpin.

"Was the Yummy handled?" Ozpin asked.

I rubbed the back of my head, "About that…"

Ankh pointed at the general. "You should be careful to what you think General," he mocked. "Looks like your desire to terminate threats has another effect,"

"What's that suppose to mean?" He frowned.

"Your desire has a second cause which lead to a _second_ Yummy born from the original Yummy. Your desire was to make your army stronger to terminate the threats. Congratulation, you moron." He said sarcastically while mocking the general.

"Listen here you chicken food!" Ironwood's grabbed Ankh, pinning him to the wall. "You better fix this right now! You and your kind have ruined the peace of this land!"

"Keep talking, you are only making the two Yummies stronger," he taunted. "No wonder Uva saw through that desire of yours."

"Why you…." he growled, tossing him to the ground as he pulls out his gun at the Greeed.

Ankh quickly detached from his host before staring at the general. " **You forget, I can't be hit by normal means. And if you kill 'me' you will only be a murderer."** He pointed to the unconscious host before possessing it again. "You wouldn't want to ruin your career would you?"

"Woah woah woah now!" Akira held up his hands in defense, "You two need to calm down." He whispers to them, "There are kids here…."

Ankh huffed as he adjusted his jacket before walking away. "I'm off to the dorm, see you idiots later." He said before he entered the school.

"Mah, Anko is always like that," Akira sighed. "Well gonna get me some Oden then." He was the next person to walk away while I looked back at Team RWBY.

"Well… We could take a chance to rest up," I agreed. "Laters." I waved off before walking away.

* * *

The day after that little fiasco of an argument between Ironwood and Ankh, I decided to head back to the city, relaxing at a cafe but at the same time keeping watch of the two Yummy. Knowing Uva, he will try any method to find a place to strike knowing the two Yummies from before were tough and it would allow him to find a place to attack.

Taking a sip of the warm tea, I felt more relax and calm being here at the cafe.

"Mind if I sit here?" I look up as I see a young woman with light blue eyes, white hair, part of it covering her right eye, and the rest bundled up into a in a bun. She wore a deep blue outfit, with a white overcoat on top, and the style felt something regal, yet also similar to a warrior. She even had a look that felt… extremely familiar. Even more she has the look to that of someone from the military and seeing that Atlas is the only military around, she must be from there.

"Uh… sure," I said but at the same time confused. "Have… we met before?"

"Heh, no we have not Enrique." She said, sitting down but hearing her say my name made me on guard.

I slowly reached my other hand for my O-Driver from my pocket, under the table. "How do you know my name?" I questioned.

"Don't fret. The General only told me to keep an eye on you is all. In fact, I should thank you." She smiled softly.

I raised an eyebrow. I understand the general is worried but to send someone to keep an eye on me? Is he paranoid or something? "Thank me for what?" I asked.

"Preventing my sister's demise during the first semester of the school. As well as being her friend." she answered.

"Sister…?" I blinked until I realized the familiarity on the woman. "You're Weiss' sister?!"

"Heh, yes I am. Winter Schnee." She held her hand out, "Nice to meet you, OOO."

I got hold of her hand and shook it, "it's.. nice meeting you." I nodded until I heard her call me by the title. "How did you know about me being OOO?"

"I did my research. It's fairly easy if you look at it carefully enough." She said, the waiter coming over and handing her some tea. "Although there aren't any records of you…"

I gulped, now feeling nervous. "W-Well…" I stuttered.

"It matters not to me, where you came from. Though your power is one to be watched carefully…" She said, sipping her tea but I felt relief upon her response. "Seeing as how the General seen what it is capable of."

"I understand how they are but I'm not like that," I waved my hands. "I only use it to stop those Greeed and Yummies they make."

"I can see that." She chuckled softly, "Asides from helping my sister, your eyes give it away."

"My eyes…?"

"You show a selfless reason, willing to help others even people you don't know," she took a sip of her tea. "Yet behind those eyes I see someone who shows guilt, grief, and loss. You seem to hide it very well."

I chuckled sadly, "Guess some people can see through me. It's like the saying… 'The eyes are the windows to the soul.'"

"Heh, indeed you are right." She nodded, "Just try not to lose yourself over those who have wronged you. Otherwise, something will grow from it, and consume you."

"Right…" I sighed before finishing the tea I had. "You know, I'm surprise you are with Atlas military. Weiss never mentioned a sister before to her teammates or me and Ankh."

"She… likes to try and distance herself from us. While I still love her and she does love me, she wants to make a name for herself, than our family." Winter stated.

"Was that why she went to Beacon?"

Winter nodded, "She wants to prove that she can make it on her own, without the influence of our family."

"I see…" I noted. "Is that all you want to ask me? I have the weird feeling you have more questions to ask me."

"Questions? Not right now… I'm only here to keep an eye on you as of now." Winter said.

"Oh."

"So just relax right now. Think of me as a guest." She smiled, sipping on her tea.

"Uh… Sure…" I shrugged lightly. "So how long have you been in the Atlas military? 3 years?" I guessed.

"4 actually." She responded. "Also, something Weiss may not have told you, but our Semblance is hereditary"

"Bloodline?"

"Correct," she lifted her hand as a glyph formed to my surprise.

"I never knew one's semblance can be passed over to the family."

"It's very rare. Not many have it. Ours is the only one that is kept secret. Since if an enemy can get ahold of us at a young age, they could corrupt it for future Hunters and Huntresses." Winter explained.

"Understandable," I agreed. "I may not have a semblance but it is cool to witness others use it during combat."

"You'll get it sooner." Winter smiled, "If I know anything about Semblances, I know when they'll emerge. And I can tell you, that yours will emerge soon."

I chuckled. "Yeah… Hopefully." I rubbed the back of my head.

"Also…. May I ask how my sister and the team she is with are doing?" She asked, "I would like to hear it from another point of view."

"Oh, they are doing alright. At first Weiss didn't agree with Ruby being leader but she got over it and helping her. Yang.. is well Yang. And for Blake, she's often quiet but she's nice like the others." I answered. "They all have some troubles at first but it was eventually solved and they became good friends to be around. I may be in a one man team, but it is nice to be around the other two teams, helping them out with any trouble."

"Heh, I'm surprised to hear such nice things from you." She chuckled softly, "If I also know anything about men. I know some would be tempted in 'many' things if they were in your shoes."

"Huh?" I tilted my head, confused. "What do you mean by that?"

She looks at me, a bit confused, "You know. 'Taking advantage' over four girls alone with you? Some guys would jump at that. Yet, you don't…."

"They are my friends, why would I take advantage?" I blinked. "I would help them with their troubles."

She rolls her eyes, "Guess one thing Weiss said is right…." She sighed, taking a sip once more.

"Right about what?" I raised an eyebrow.

"You'll find out when you realize it." I stared at the older Schnee before I shrugged.

"Now tell me… about this Ankh?"

"Ankh? Well… He can be a jerk at times and sometimes, pardon my words, be a prick," I admitted. "But he is also the one who took me under his wing, no pun intended, and trained me to be a better fighter. He is the first huntsman after all."

"I see….. Do you ever suspect he's planning something behind your backs?" She asked me.

"Sometimes…" I admitted. "But I know he wouldn't."

"Why is that?"

"He can be a jerk but he recently met someone that reminds him what he is doing," I smiled.

"I see…." She then stood up, paying for not only the tea but my order as well, "We shall meet again Enrique. Take care." Winter said, as she walked out of the cafe.

"It was nice meeting you," I called out. Although, I wonder why would she ask that much questions?

Oh well, at least I can head back to beacon. Getting up from my seat, I left the cafe and made my way to the bullhead. However, the moment I made a turn, I bumped into someone. "Sorry about-Blake?" I blinked.

"Hey Enrique." She said, holding what looked like a small bag, "Are…. you busy?"

"Nah, I just left the cafe. I even met Weiss' older sister." I answered.

"She has one of those?" Blake joked.

"Yeah, turns out her older sister is part of the Atlas military."

"Hm.. Figures. So…" She said softly, "Do… you wanna eat this with me?" She held up the bag.

I looked at the bag in question and saw some sushi, and knowing her, made sense. "Sure why not," I smiled. "Where to?" I asked.

"I know of a spot." She said, wrapping her free arm around mine, "Come on." Blake smiled as she dragged me off to the 'spot' she knew of.

What felt like a long walk, we made it to the hillside I took her to on our date a couple of days ago. "Hey isn't this where I took you to a couple of days ago?" I asked.

She turned away, hiding a soft blush as it disappeared before turning back to me, "Um… Yes… Is that bad?"

"No, not at all," I waved off. "I did mention of you ever want to come here, you are welcome to. I even recall you asking me only if I come along."

She smiled, as we sit down on the hillside. Blake brought out the sushi, that looked handcrafted along with some drinks as well, handing me a small tray to eat the food on. I looked at the sushi before taking a bite, the taste being very good. "This tastes really good," I smiled, taking another bite of the sushi.

"Thanks… Made it myself…" she said softly.

I stopped upon the next bite before looking at her, swallowing the food so I can speak. "You… made this?" I asked, surprised.

She nodded, "Akira and Ruby showed me how it was made… But I did make it on my own…."

"Well… It tastes really good, Blake," I commented. "Thank you."

She smiled at me, eating her own sushi as I notice her cat ears in her bow, twitching happily. It was actually cute really…

I shook my head, getting me out of my thoughts before deciding to enjoy the sushi with her. It was very peaceful really and I was enjoying her company a lot… The both of us continued to eat as we stare at the city from the hillside, enjoying the view. It's funny.. It's like how we spent our time during… our date...

"Say um… Enrique?"

"Yes Blake?"

"Do… you wanna go to the movies sometime? I heard of a film we could enjoy…." She asked me, looking away slightly.

"Y-You're asking me on a d-date again?" I flustered. She had a soft blush, nodding softly at me.

"W-Well… I…" I had to calm myself down before I shook my head and looked at her. "I.. I would like that," I finally answered.

She turned to me, a soft purr heard as she smiles, "Then… see you tonight?"

"Yeah," I responded.

We were gonna continue until I heard my Scroll ring, making me reach in my pocket and see that it was Yang calling. "What is it now, Yang?" I asked.

" _We've got Yummy troubles! At the Beacon grounds!"_ She said in a panic.

"Eh!?" I gasped. "At Beacon!?"

" _There's more! The Uva guy is here too! Mr. Akira is trying to hold him off!"_

I got up along with Blake. "We'll be right there! Just hold them off!" I advised.

"Something wrong?" Blake asked.

"Uva and those two Yummies from before are at Beacon," I informed. "We have to get over to help them."

"Come on. I saw a Ride Vendor nearby." She pointed towards a shop down the hill that showed the Rider Vendor.

I quickly rush down the hill and approach the vending machine before reaching for a cell medal in my pocket and placed it in. Once in, I pressed the button before moving aside to allow it to convert to its bike mode. I got on the motorcycle before tossing a helmet to Blake. "Get on." She places it on, getting behind me as she held on tight.

* * *

We made it back to Beacon as I was in my TaToBa armor while Blake had her Gambol Shroud with her. We rushed to the courtyard as we saw Team RWBY and JNPR fighting off the two Yummies while Akira was fight against Uva. "Blake, go help your teammates, I'll help Akira fight Uva." I said.

"Be careful." She hugged me, before heading off to where Ruby and the others were at.

I rushed over where Akira was at before I used the Batta legs to help me leap over and kick Uva, sending him stumbling a bit

"Bout time you got here. Heh, and here I thought I could easily take him on." He chuckled.

"At least I got here in time," I responded before avoiding one of Uva's attacks.

" **Looks like I can kill both of you this time,"** Uva smirked, **"Killing two in one go and I'll get back my Cores."**

"Try if you can. I'm sure you won't fail like you did before. Who was it against? Oh right…. Against a Faunus student." Birth taunted.

"Uh… Akira I think you ticked him off," I gulped.

And right I was as the Insect Greeed's horns sparked with green electricity, his anger at its boiling point as he glared menacingly at us.

"Good! I want him to GET MAD." Birth chuckled, leaning towards me, "This way, he can't focus and will be unpersicse."

"Good? It's a bad idea!" I waved my arms in panic. "Even if he does, his anger is as bad as Yang's!"

"Oh what can he do-" he was punched in the face and sent flying into a window, crashing into the cafeteria.

"Akira!" I called out until Uva delivers a few strike onto the Batta crest, sparks casting off my armor.

" **I'm taking you down first, OOO. Then that Faunus brat is next on my list…."** He threatened. " **No Faunis should ever harm me!"**

He kicked me, sending me rolling across the ground. I coughed until I saw Ankh. "Enrique! Catch!" He tossed a Medal into my hand before I quickly switched them.

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **WANI!**

The Batta legs were replaced with Wani, allowing me to deliver a quick kick to the Insect Greeed's chest as cell medals spilled off its skin.

" **Those lousy Medals of yours…"** He growled, grabbing a few Cell Medals as he snaps them in two and tossed them into the air, making some Trash Yummies.

"Crap…" I cursed before using the Wani Legs to bite through them but Uva used the chance to deliver more strikes onto the armor, my exhaustion nearly approaching.

He grabbed me by my neck, lifting me up, **"I'm going to enjoy this…."**

"Hey Bug Brain!" Uva turned around, only to see Birth in a new piece of attachment. In his legs were large bulky legs with tank-like treads as he was speeding towards us before tackling the Greeed before he landed on the ground as Akira stomped on Uva, the treads digging through him.

" **Get…. OFF!"** He shouted, a blast of electricity forcing Birth off of him and near me. The Insect Greeed got up as his chest revealed cell medals along with a certain gray core to that of a rhino that was visible. "Now Ruby!" Birth called out.

A blur of red and rose petals passed by, Uva groaning in pain as he feels a bit weaker than before. Near by was that of Ruby, holding the Sai Core in her hand. "Got it!" she waved.

" **You lousy…. Brat!"** Uva shouted, sending a bolt of lightning at her. She quickly tosses the Core to me, before being struck by the lightning and forced into some rubble near by, but thanks to her Semblance, she managed to avoid his attack.

"Ankh! I need Zou and Gorilla!" I called out.

"Just beat him already." He growled, tossing me the cores.

"Here goes." I said, switching the King Combo with the three gray Core Medals and scanned them.

 **SAI!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **ZOU!**

 **SAGOZO... SAGOZO!**

Now I was instantly donned in the SaGoZo Combo, aka the Gravity Combo.

 **(Cue SaGoZo Combo - Sun Goes Up)**

I slammed my fists together as I felt the familiar surge of power course through me, "Time for a beatdown!" I declared before I began to beat my chest, emitting a surge of energy throughout the area.

Uva was about to attack until he felt the change in Gravity along with the two Yummies. The rubble began to lift up before he and the two Yummies joined in on the gravitational change. The Insect Greeed gritted, kneeling down from the gravity surge.

"I used it on that Yummy at the first semester," I informed.

Uva growled, sending bolts of lightning at me, trying to harm me or others near by, causing smoke to fly upon contact, among me stop. Once it cleared, it only showed the two Yummies while Uva was gone, showing that he escaped.

"And now there's the two Yummies we have to handle," Akira mused as I slammed my flats together.

The Rhino Yummy charged in but I stood my ground, my arms out before it soon came in contact with my gauntlets, it pushed me back as bit but I finally managed to stop it in its tracks. I lifted the Rhino Yummy up before slamming him on the ground a few times, before tossing him high into the air.

" **Threat!"** I looked at the incoming Stag Beetle Yummy until Akira got in front of me, his Birth Buster aimed at it.

"I got this," he smirked as he placed the canister onto the barrel of the rifle before it began to charge up with energy.

 _ **CELL BURST!**_

With the rifle, it unleashed a burst of energy that shot straight towards the Stag Beetle Yummy before or soon came in contact with if, causing it to explode into cell medals as Ankh greedily snatches many cell medals.

"Oi! That's mine!"Birth frowned, rushing over to bottle up as many cell medals as possible.

Looking up, I saw the other Yummy in which I took a few steps back before it crashed into the ground. "Now… It's your turn!" I declared before scanning the medals.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

The rubble from its impact trapped it into the ground as I was lifted to the air before coming back down. The Yummy was then dragged towards me before I reeled my arms and head back before delivering a triple hit to it, causing it to explode into cell medals as well.

 **(End Song)**

Ankh and Birth once again, tries to grab as many Cell Medals as possible even arguing over who gets them, as Ruby, Blake, Weiss and Yang rushes over to me, each one having some bruises or cuts on them.

"Is that all of them?" Yang asked.

"Yeah but Uva got away, again," I sighed as I titled the buckle, reverting to civilian form. Everything turned blur as I began to fall back, only to be caught by Blake.

"Take it easy okay? You seriously need to get that stamina up." She smiled softly.

"I guess so…" I chuckled weakly. I raised my head to see the general approaching Birth who was reloading the Birth Buster and refilling the milk tank, the huntsman noticing his approach. "Yo." He waved. "Guess you must be the one who had the Yummy born from."

"Yes I am. Thank you all for defeating it." He bowed his head lightly.

"It's no biggie," Birth waved off. "They are gone so that's that."

"If I may, Akira, who has lent you and these two teams the equipment needed to fight them off?" General asked.

"Can't tell ya, I'm under contract," he chuckled.

"But as a fellow huntsman, you should tell the ones in charge in order to protect the people."

"True but this tech belongs to them," he explained. "I can't tell ya how they made it since I don't know and I am doing the fighting for payment they were willing to give me."

"If you don't, then many civilians will die! Do you want that again Akira?" Ironwoods glared.

"I understand but.. Uh…" He looked at the milk tank and reached in before pulling out a rolled up piece of paper. He unrolled it and showed it to Ironwood. "It states that I am unable to share the information about the Birth armor and/or inform the persons about its functions and capabilities as well as any source it uses. I'm only doing this job since they are giving me 1,000,000 Lien."

"What?! One Million Lien?!" Ruby and Yang gasped.

"Right you are you two," he gave the two a thumb up "If I gather enough, then I will get the 1,000,000 Lien."

"Why would a Hunter want so much money?" Weiss questioned.

"Now that is another story. I have no idea what I'll do with it." He shrugged. He removed the cell medal, reverting to civilian form, giving a two finger salute. "If you excuse me, the belt needs maintenance so I'm heading to Vale." He turned around and walks away from us and the general.

The General frowned, turning to me, "And you? What about that sword of yours?" He asked.

"My Medajalibur?" I repeated. "What about it?"

"Will you tell me who created it?"

"Uh…." I looked at my friends then at Ozpin, then back at Ironwood. "Well… I'm kinda under the same contract as well with the sword. Ankh signed a contract."

"Fine…. But mind you, I _will_ find out…." He said storming off, leaving us to rest up for now.

* * *

Night time was finally around as we all managed to get patched up thanks to our Auras but right now I was getting myself ready for my second date with Blake.

I was a little nervous at first but I managed to calm myself down. I was now wearing a black jacket over a gray shirt. I was also wearing dark boot-cut pants and black shoes to match my attire.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I took a deep breath before leaving my dorm and approached Team RWBY's dorm. The door opened as I notice Blake wearing a two piece dress. They were black with white rims and yellow flora pattern. Even more surprising is that she didn't have her bow on her head, it was wrapped around her neck like a scarf.

"Do… I look good?" She asked, a soft blush on her face.

I was mesmerized by her looks that it was like I was in a trance. She was… beautiful even without the bow on.

"Enrique?"

Hearing her voice, I shook my head to keep it together before looking at her. "You look beautiful, Blake," I admitted but inside I was left wondering why would I say that.

"Heh, thank you. You look amazing as well…" She smiled, wrapping her arm around mine, "Shall we?"

"Sure thing but… Are you sure it's a good idea to not have the bow on…?" I asked nervously. "I mean… I'm worried you will be treated unfairly by others."

"It's fine… I know when I'm with you, it won't matter." she smiled making me blush a bit more from it. "Sides…. I… wanted to do this…."

"O-Ok…" I flustered as I followed her. "Um, what about Yang won't she follow us like last time…?"

"I had Ruby and Akira watch over her." Blake smirked. "We'll be fine.."

"O… K?" I responded but I had the feeling that they are preventing them from leaving.

* * *

 _Back in Team RWBY's dorm, Yang pouted as she couldn't leave the dorm. "Why can't you let me see how their date goes Ruby?" She asked. "You know as much as I do that Enrique is oblivious to certain feelings."_

" _Because Yang, this is their moment." She frowned, "And I don't want another punishment from Blake."_

" _Oh come on!" She was about to go for the door until Ruby slammed it shut._

" _No, bad Yang," Ruby informed. "This is their moment. You and Nora made Blake upset once."_

" _It was one time."_

" _One time that Blake punished Nora, Jaune, Weiss, and me! You had the worst!" She waved her arms._

" _It wasn't that bad." She lied. "Sides…. This time, I'll be careful and not get caught."_

 _Ruby frowned as she crossed her arms, "I'm not letting you leave this dorm and that's final."_

" _Uh…. Looky! A cookie powered weapon!" she pointed behind her._

" _Not falling for it," Ruby answered._

" _Oh wow! It even shoots ice cream too!"_

" _Not falling for it," she continued._

" _Even if Zwei plans on eating the cookies?"_

 _Ruby's hand twitched but she chose to stay still and keep it together._

" _Uh oh! Nora's throwing them out! Saying something about, 'Cookies are for the trash'!"_

 _Ruby's eyebrow twitched as she tries to keep it together. 'Keep it together Ruby. Yang is trying to do her old tricks again…' She thought to herself._

" _Akira! Don't throw the weapon out! It's not… 'Poorly made'."_

 _The scythe wielder began to tremble, making Yang grin. "I hope they don't throw away your secret stash of chocolate chip cookies." She said out loud._

" _NNNOO! Not my cookies!" She quickly turned around, only to see nothing and as she turned back, Yang was already out the door. "I fell for it!" She reached for her scroll. "Mr. Akira, Yang got away!"_

" _You fell for the 'throw away cookies' trick didn't you?" He deadpanned._

" _I tried my best…." She pouted. "It was one time!"_

" _You fell for that trick before when you were 6, with myself being the one to pull that trick on you." Ruby slumped her shoulders. "Just find Yang before she finds Blake and Enrique."_

" _Okay_ …"

* * *

Blake and I walked out of the movie theater and I was glad they allowed people who Faunus to enter as well. "That was a good movie," I smiled.

"Yeah. I really enjoyed the choreography. It also looked like something you would see in the past." She smiled.

"Right about that," I agreed.

"Want to head towards some place to eat?"

"Dinner sounds nice."

Coming to an agreement, the both of us went to the nearest restaurant to have dinner before entering the building. "Table for two, please." I asked.

The waiter nods as he shows us towards a table, once there we sit down as we take the menus and look at them. The food looked really tasty and after our drinks, we hand the waiter out menus, ready for some food.

When we ordered our meals, I noticed Blake's eyebrow twitching. "Something wrong, Blake?"

"Uh… No! No. I'll be back. Have to go to the bathroom." She smiled, standing up as she makes her way to the bathroom. Wonder what that was about?

* * *

 _Outside, Yang is scanning the area, trying to look for Enrique and Blake as she uses her goggles to zoom in closer. "Come on…. Where are you two?" Yang muttered._

" _Yang~" A familiar voice called out._

 _Yang's face went pale as she turned around. "O-Oh! Hey Blake… I was uh….. Looking for some trouble! Yeah! Saw some suspicious people near by. Could be the White Fang." She stated._

 _The kunoichi grabbed her ribbon, glaring at Yang as she saw through the lie. "You know what I am gonna do right?" She informed._

" _Uh… Let me go, and survive the next day?" She smiled nervously._

" _No." Within the next few minutes, Yang got what she deserved from the cat Faunus._

* * *

Blake came back, a soft smile on her face as she sits back down, "Sorry about that." Blake apologized.

"Was everything alright?" I asked.

"Everything is fine," She assured.

"Uh… alright." I got out before the both of us began to enjoy our dinner together. And to be honest, I was really enjoying Blake's company. It was comforting… peaceful… it made my heart race whenever I was near her. It was the same strange feeling I keep getting when she is close to me.

"Is everything, alright Enrique?" Blake asked, her head tilted slightly.

I raised my head. "Huh? Uh, yeah." I answered. "I was in my thoughts was all."

"Heh, well you might want to focus. Our food is here." She pointed out. I turned my head to see the waiter placing our meals onto the table. Seeing the food now on the table, I decided to think later and eat the food we ordered.

After a while, we finish our meals as we pay up and head out. It was a very fun night and I was glad I could do this. But as we keep walking, Blake holds my arm, as she begins to drag me. "Blake?"

"Come on…. I want to do one last thing before we head back." She said, leading to what I didn't expect to see her go to, a club.

"You… want to come here?" I pointed at the building.

"Yeah…. I wanted to leave this day off with something fun." she smiled. "Is something wrong?"

"I… I'm not that familiar with clubs," I replied nervously.

"Doesn't your home have those kind of places?"

"They do. It's just that… I am not the kind of person who dances in a club…" I admitted to my embarrassment.

"Me either… But…" She looks at me, "I… wouldn't mind dancing with you…."

I looked at her, a soft blush forming on my face. "R-Really?" I asked. "I-I mean… A-Alright..."

Man, I was really nervous about how I am. I mean, Blake didn't care at all and she didn't mind either… Okay, I have to keep it together. This a only a date with Blake. I want to enjoy this moment with her… I then felt her arm wrap around mine as as she begins to drag me inside.

It was a unique club, one with only monochrome colors, with some hints of red, yellow and pink in the pillars, ceiling and the lights. Several people were there, dancing away to the music, chatting with others, or drinking to their hearts content.

"Wow…" I got out. It was different than the club that Yang, Neptune, and I went at to investigate about Torchwick.

"Come on Enrique." Blake took my hand, leading me to the dance floor, "Let's dance."

"E-Eh?" I got out. "I don't know much about dancing, only the one I know was the one we had back at Beacon."

"It will be alright," She assured.

"A-Are you sure…?"

"Yeah…. Just follow my lead." She said, taking ahold of my hand.

I looked into Blake's eyes, seeing the warmth in them, her kindness. "Alright…" I nodded, making her small smile grow before the both of us began to dance to the music. Everything around us became nothing as I shared the moment as I dance with the faunus kunoichi. I… I actually have never been this happy before for the past 5 years… even more… it will soon be 6 years ever since that day.

Blake though, danced as close to me as she could, wrapping her arms onto my neck. Though once and awhile she gives off some glares to a few of the other females in the club. Heck, I swore I even heard some cat like growls and hisses from her. Guess she didn't want them to try anything on me. Don't know why she would be protective over me. I knew how to take care of myself but it confuses me to why she acts like that.

"Hey Blake… I'm really enjoying the time I am having with you," I smiled softly. "Really, thank you. I… I never been had this much fun in a long time with someone."

"I'm happy to hear that from you, Enrique." She smiled before she stopped dancing, "Oh uh… heh, the ladies room awaits." She said, heading off towards it.

I chuckled before I walked over to a table to allow myself to take a break from the dancing but now… I felt my heart beating like before… I placed my hand over where my heart would be, having the warm feeling coming back. "What is this feeling…?" I muttered to myself.

"Enrique? I didn't know you came here." I blinked, turning my head before another blush overcame me. Standing there was Cinder, who had her hair moved back, she wore a unique blood red dress that clined to her body, along with gloves on. She had several jewelry on her as well as some stockings as she walked over to me.

"Y-Yeah… I am on a… d-date with Blake…" I answered.

"Oh? Getting serious with her huh?" She said, walking over as she sat pretty closely to me.

"S-Serious with her? What do you mean?"

"You know. A date? Trying to move onto her so she can be yours?" She pointed out.

Blake being… mine…? Come on, it's not like I lo... lo…

That word again... Wait… does that mean…? Is the strange feeling really… that…? I thought that feeling was long gone...

"Well… is seems to me, you don't have those feelings for her. Pity…." She said, leaning in closer, "She doesn't know what she's missing…" Cinder said as softly as possible as she cupped my cheek, leaning in closer.

Seeing what she was doing got me out of my thoughts, pushing it away as I became flustered, "C-Cinder, what are you doing?" I asked.

"Shh….. Just relax…." She said, her smoldering eyes glowing softly under the shadowed area as she began to close the gap, I could even feel her breath as she gets closer to my face.

"C-Cinder, I don't think I-I should… I-I mean… I'm on a date…" I stuttered as she was more closer than before to my somewhat discomfort.

"Don't worry…. I'm just showing you how I feel…." she said softly, almost seductively.

Before she could, I suddenly felt someone grab my arm and pulled me away from the table. I was confused at first until I saw who pulled my arm. "B-Blake?" I got out.

She was glaring as Cinder, her hair surprisingly standing up on it's ends. That same growl and hiss is more audible now. Cinder frowned, standing up and crossing her arms, "And here I thought you just liked him…" She sighed.

"You need to keep your arms off of him Cinder…." Blake warned.

"Oh? But it's not like some girls wish to speak with him," She said, as if she was taunting the kunoichi.

"But you aren't some girl either." She glared. "Stay away from him."

"A-Am I missing something here?" I asked.

"No, just an overprotective Faunus." Cinder giggled softly.

"I have to be, because I lov-" She quickly stopped her sentence, "Because… I care for him a lot… He's… a friend and teammate…."

Cinder grinned slightly, "Did I just hear that correctly on your first sentence?"

"You didn't hear, _anything_ …." She hissed, "Come on Enrique. We're leaving." She said, dragging me off.

"O-Okay."

* * *

 _Cinder's grin quickly changed into a frown the moment they were gone from her sights. She was close but the kunoichi stopped it, even more it confirms that the Faunus kunoichi is in love with the young multi-king._

" _This is an interesting development…. I just need to know how to proceed…." Cinder pondered._

* * *

Blake was dragging me away, far from the club much to my confusion. I mean, she was upset at Cinder about something. "Blake? You think we are far enough from that club?" I asked, confused. "Just why were you acting like that anyway?"

She didn't respond, muttering something I couldn't hear she kept dragging me away. She was in a daze right now. "Blake, are you okay?" I noticed her daze.

She quickly blinked, snapping out of her trance as she stopped and turned to me, "O-Oh… sorry Enrique… I… was just angered that she tried to kiss you…" She lowered her head.

I blushed upon the recent memory. "Oh that…" I scratched my hair for a moment. "I-I was just surprised she was about to do that… I mean… I _did_ kiss you…" My blush increased upon that memory. "On the first date…"

"Though…. I-I.. didn't _mind_ it..." Blake said, blushing just as much as myself. We looked away from each other, now feeling awkward to what we said. "W-We…. Should head home…."

"Y-Yeah," I nodded before Blake and I went to the airship, making our way back to Beacon. From the air, the city below in the night was a rather beautiful view. I never thought it would be this cool to see from the air. I then felt Blake leaning on me, I turned to see her already fast asleep as she leans on me slightly. It was a nice thing to see as I smile, patting her head gently. Her smile grew as I swore I heard the slight sound of purring as she sleeps.

When the airship landed, I gently shook Blake but she didn't wake up, showing that she was fast asleep. I pondered on how she was gonna be in her dorm before making the decision to carry her on my back. I stood up as she was being carried on my back while I made my way to the dorms.

Inside the dorm she was in, Ruby was asleep, a wooden sword in hand as she leans against the bed that holds Yang, now tied up tight as she too slept soundly. Weiss though was sleeping with a sleeping Zwei in her arms as she snuggles it.

I chuckled quietly before I looked up at the upper bunk that Blake sleeps at. How am I gonna set her on her bunk? I looked around and before realizing, it too was occupied by none other than Akira, holding a stuffed bear in his arms. Since when was he here? Oh right, Blake mentioned that Ruby and Akira would keep an eye on Yang...

I gulped and blushed, knowing she would have no other place to sleep… except in my room. I walked out as I made my way into my dorm, opening it as I gently set her on my bed, but before I could go to the couch, I feel her gripping my hand. I turned to see her still asleep, guess she doesn't want me to leave her….

Placing my hand on hers, I try to make her let go but she had a strong hold. "Blake, can you let go?" I whispered despite her sleeping. She made a soft whine, as if denying me release.

I groaned before a blush formed on my face once again. I moved the blanket before I had no choice but to lay down next to her, moving the blanket to cover the both of us. "N-Night, Blake…" I whispered softly.

"Night… Enrique…." She said in her sleep.

I blushed lightly before a soft smile grew on my face before turning away to face the wall. But as I did, I began to think over how the day went. Asides from the fighting and Cinder, it was a nice night and date with Blake.

"This was a good night…" I said softly. A smile on my face as I begin to drift off to sleep.

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Taka (x2)**

 **Kujaku (x1)**

 **Condor (x1)**

 **Lion (x1)**

 **Tora (x1)**

 **Cheetah (x1)**

 **Kuwagata (x1)**

 **Kamakiri (x1)**

 **Batta (x1)**

 **Kobura (x1)**

 **Kame (x1)**

 **Wani (x1)**

 **Shachi (x1)**

 **Unagi (x1)**

 **Tako (x1)**

 **Sai (x1)**

 **Gorilla (x1)**

 **Zou (x2)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"You… you were suppose to be dead like the Multi-King 800 years ago!?" Ankh growled in disbelief.

What we saw in the image shocked the group but for me to panic. The image displayed five Core Medals in my body, from what seems to be around my heart.

 _ **PU-TO-TYRA NO ZAURU~!**_

 **Next Time:** The Alchemist, Purple Cores, The Invincible Combo

* * *

 **A/N:** Well folks that is it for this chapter! I hope you all enjoy the return of the SaGoZo combo and now he has 6 Full Combos. If you saw the preview, you are gonna see what will happen next.

Not to mention the progressing between the Rider and Blake. It seems that he is gonna realize it sooner or later. Hope you all enjoy this chapter and I will see you all in the next one. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	27. Chapter 26: Alchemist, Invincible Combo

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 26th chapter of OOO and this is where a certain Combo finally makes its debut! I know some of you are wondering if there will be a Super TaToBa, and to answer this, I don't want to give any spoilers but it will be _before_ the Volume 4 arc. Also, I know some of you are wondering when I will update **Chalice: The Wild Card Chronicles** and it will be soon since I'm taking my time and this story will be updated more often than the others.

Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc., but no Birth [Maybe]).

Don't forget to check out my other stories as well.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _The moonlight casted down on the city of Vale, the city itself shining in the night from all the lights. If was a rather calm night for once but in an alley, a dome of cell medals formed before it took shaped, the light dying down to reveal a hooded figure wearing a cloak that was that to those who worked for royalty._

" _It has been so long since I came back here," The voice said with a grin but under the hood was an evil grin, giving off his lust for power like his majesty did all those years ago. He looks up, seeing the familiar shattered moon unlike the one he had seen in that other world where it wasn't. Oh the memories of those years, watching the moon basking its glory while this moon was only remnants of what it should have been._

 _But for his return? There was a reason to why he came back..._

 _He chuckled evilly before walking out the alley as he approached a stand that had the local papers. Wanting to see how much times past, he flipped through pages that were simply boring but some articles caught his attention._

 _The Greeed and a certain suit of armor._

" _OOO." He muttered but he knew this had that bird's work all over it since he saws a man with a familiar arm in the image, pointing at a certain Bug Greeed. His smirk grew before tossing the paper aside and began his search for a certain target._

" _Now…" The figure grinned. "Time to look for you, Core Vessel."_

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 26: The Alchemist, Purple Cores, The Invincible Combo**

Morning finally rose as it began to enter the room. Upon hitting my face, I slowly wake up, yawning but oddly enough, unable to move an inch. _'Why can't I move?'_ I asked in my thoughts. As my vision began to clear up, a huge rush of blood went to my face, making me blush. Blake was snuggling against me!

"B-Blake!?" I stammered. Suddenly, I remembered last night when the both of us went to our second date.

She sighed happily, nuzzling against my chest as I heard that purr again! "So… warm…." She said softly.

Oh man… I have to wake her up before Yang or even Nora find out about this! "Blake, wake up," I shook her lightly, trying to wake her up.

"Ngh… 1 more hour….." She muttered.

"B-But you're in my d-dorm…" I answered nervously.

"5 more hours….." She muttered, obviously still asleep.

I gulped until I heard the upper bunk move, showing that Ankh was waking up. The Bird Greeed hopped off his makeshift bunk and stretched before turning around to see me but also Blake. He blinked for a moment before he snickered at first until…

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed, clutching his stomach from his laughter. "I came back after getting those Cell Medals and wake up to this, seeing you and kitty cat on the bed? HAHAHAHA!"

"It's not funny, Ankh…" I frowned at him.

"Oh it is," He laughed. "You are an oblivious idiot who doesn't realize that-" A pillow was slammed into his face, making him fall back to the ground. I look to see Blake now leaning forward, an annoyed glare on her face, "Beat it bird brain…."

Ankh grabbed the pillow and moved it away from his face, seeing that Blake was the one who threw it at him. "Why I oughta…" He gritted until I got off the bed, stopping Ankh from getting to Blake.

"Calm down, Ankh!" I insisted. "It was your fault first of all."

"My fault!?" A tick mark formed on his head. "You should be at the one at fault here! That cat threw that pillow because I was trying to tell you about that brain of yours being oblivious!"

"Okay, how am I oblivious!?" I waved my arms. "What makes you think I am oblivious? Name one thing."

"Firstly, how Yang tried a few times of flirting with you," He raised another finger. "Secondly, that Cinder girl trying to talk to you in a rather seductive way." He raised a third finger. "And thirdly, her." He pointed at Blake.

"What about Blake?" I crossed my arms.

"It's obvious she marked-" Another pillow hit his face once more, forcing him back, as he pulls it off and growls. "Fine. Let him be oblivious. You won't be able to make him see it." He growled, storming out of the room.

I blinked before looking back at Blake, "What did he mean by mark?"

"I-It's nothing…" She turned away shyly.

"Oh… alright," I shrugged before noticing the time, showing that class starts in two hours. "Class starts in two hours, you should head to your dorm to get ready."

"I… can in an hour…. I just…. Wanna stay here.. For now…." She said with a blush.

Did I hear that right? Why would she want to stay here for the next hour? "Why would you want to stay?" I asked, confused.

"I… feel safe when I'm like this with you…." She muttered.

"Eh?" I blinked, a blush rising on my face, my heart rapidly beating like last time. It was the same feeling again… I feel her hand tugging on me as I look at her.

"Can… we just lay here…. For now?" She asked shyly again.

"I-I…" I stammered. "W-We have class in two hours though.. A-And Yang would be wondering where you are. I don't want her to think you were here the whole night."

"It's okay…. We… can just stay here for an hour…." She said, holding my arm. I stared at Blake in the eyes, feeling drawn to them like at the dance and our date… I couldn't help but be mesmerized by her… beautiful eyes. I soon feel her pulling me back down onto the bed, snuggling next to me as that purr can be heard once more. A soft smile slowly crept on my face as I unconsciously moved closer to her.

I looked at Blake before we jolted as we heard the door being slammed opened. Oh boy...

"WELL! If I knew you two were going to cuddle, I would've brought candles!" Yang voice chuckled out.

I quickly moved away from Blake before keeping myself together and looked at Yang. "Can you knock next time, Yang? You know how much Ankh hates it when you do that."

"Well, he isn't here. Sides." She grins, holding up her scroll, "This is too juicy not to share."

I paled before I rushed up to Yang and tried to grab her Scroll. "Yang, d-delete that!" I panicked, trying to grab her Scroll.

"Oops! Just uploaded it to the school news site." She chuckled. If was possible for me, I became pale as paper and stone with a crack.

"Hahaha! You should see your face!" She laughed, "Relax, I only sent it to our friends. Nothing more."

"E-Eh..?" I squeaked before I fell back until I soon saw my scroll lighting up with a few messages from Ruby, Weiss, Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha and Ren. Even some from Coco, Velvet, Sun and Neptune, each one with different responses.

I looked at Yang who had a grin, "Why did you have to do this…" I groaned.

"Cause I like seeing you two fluster." She smiled, before quickly rushing off as a few shurikens embedded into the wall where Yang used to be. Wait, where did those come from? I looked back at Blake who had two between her fingers.

"She's going to pay for that…." Blake growled.

I looked at my Scroll before deleting the messages so I can prevent further messages from showing up on my scroll. Why do they have to ask me many ridiculous questions?

* * *

Lunch time was finally around as I was eating my lunch but it wasn't much of a lunch to enjoy in peace… why you ask? Well right now, I was being asked a bunch of confusing questions by my friends as I try to eat my lunch!

"So! How was cloud nine?" Nora grinned.

"I bet she gave you a nice dance too." Sun chuckled.

"I told you guys, I don't know what you all mean by that!" I responded.

"Did you two kiss? Neptune added on.

"I hope you guys played it safe." Even Ren added on.

"I don't know what you guys mean!" I responded, now getting annoyed. Seriously, some made me confused while a few other assumptions made me blush.

"Come on guys…. Can't you leave them alone?" Ruby frowned, trying to keep everyone happy and calm.

"I agree. All they did was cuddle. Nothing more…." Weiss nodded.

"Tell that to the oblivious idiot," Ankh jabbed his thumb at me.

"Blame Yang." Blake frowned, "Though being in the dorm today will teach her a lesson.." She huffed in anger.

"What did you do this time?" Jaune asked nervously.

"The same treatment the last time you, Weiss, Ruby, and Nora received but worse." She answered calmly, causing the others to gulp in response.

"W-We should move on…. Sides, there is only two weeks till the tournament." Pyrrha pointed out. "We need to focus on that."

"Oh right, the Vytal Festival is starting soon," I remembered. "But I don't know how I will be able to enter the tournament. I mean I am only in a solo team."

"Maybe you could use your Medals or Combos to make a team?" Jaune stated.

"Probably," I shrugged. "I'll try to think of something, hopefully on time for the tournament. Besides this is the first time for me to be in a tournament, even being in a festival..."

"Really? You never seen or been to the Vytal Festival?" Pyrrha asked.

I flinched, upon realizing that I never talked much about my home to them.

"With his training and that armor, he was unable to see anything about it." Ankh sighed, "He said he wanted to keep learning so he can be a better hunter…."

"Y-Yeah, what he said." I nodded quickly. "If it wasn't for Ankh helping me, I wouldn't have been able to be a better fighter."

"It's still hard to believe that Ankh and the other Greeed are considered the First Huntsmen since they have been fighting Grimm before any of us." Neptune responded.

"Che, seeing is believing blue boy," Ankh scoffed, his Greeed arm present. "If I was in my real body, the Grimm would have been easy to take down at ease."

"Whatever you say, Ankh," I rolled my eyes before we heard the bell ring, showing that lunchtime is over. "We should head to class."

"I'll check on Yang." Blake stood up, smiling softly at me as she was about to walk off.

"Alright," Ruby nodded before we all made our way out of the cafeteria. However as we were making our way to the hallway, Ankh suddenly froze, his eyes looked to be flaring in full on rage.

"Ankh? What's wrong?" Jaune asked.

"Well, well, well…" A voice mused, making us turn around as we saw a cloaked figure who lowered his hood, revealing a man who looks to be in his late 30s with dark blue hair and eyes that gives off wrong vibes. "It has been a long time, _Ankh."_

"You… you were suppose to be dead like the Multi-King 800 years ago!?" Ankh growled in disbelief.

The man chuckled evilly as he looked at Ankh. "You wound me, _Ankh_ ," he mocked. "But I didn't die like my Majesty."

"Ankh, who is that guy?" I asked.

"And how do you know him?" Ruby asked.

Ankh clenched his claws. "That _man_ is Gara, the Royal Alchemist. Creator of the O-Driver and us Greeed." He spat in venom.

All of us looked at him, wide eyed. The creator of OOO's power was standing right before us. And… what felt wrong was the fact that he was giving me a very dangerous look.

"After all these years, you took over a human, Ankh?" He mused. "Oh how interesting it is to see it happen."

"Che, you might as well stop your ramblings.." He said, drawing out his sword, "Cause I'm going to finish what I should've done all those years ago!" He charged towards the alchemist who grinned as the moment Ankh struck Gara, it was caught by a claw. "What..?"

We were all shocked as Gara's arm changed into something draconic in nature. "Surprise, _Ankh_?" He laughed evilly. "There's a reason why I have been roaming for 800 years." He delivered a kick to Ankh's chest, sending him back to us.

"You…. you're nothing but a monster!" He gritted, holding his chest.

Gara chuckled before he laughed manically before he grabbed his cloak before a glow surrounded his body. Once it died down, it reveals a new kaijin taking his place. Its skin was dark brown skin that was scale-like with with the wings of a dragon acting as a small, short cape on its back. His body had gold trimmings on the chest with a gold piece that hangs from the center waist waist down with his chest having a green orb. His hands had long sharp 'talons' that were ready to cut down anything. His face was the most disturbing feature he has no eyes, only a gold piece to act as a crown while being dragon-like as well.

" **I'm no monster,** _ **Ankh."**_ Gara spreads his arms out like wings. " **I am reaching to the Godhood my Majesty couldn't reach!"**

We all stumbled back upon seeing what occurred. The Alchemist made himself turn into a monster… all so he can reach godhood.

"You still consider yourself a god? Don't make me laugh… you're just an ant trying to attack a mountain." Ankh glared.

Gara's teeth changed into a grin before his arms extended, delivering a whiplash to us before we can even expect it as it sent us to the wall on the school. " **How amusing, Ankh. While you were sealed for the past 800 years, I have learned so much to the world. I am far greater than you and the Greeed are in combat."**

"Heh, if you were so great… How come you couldn't beat the Multi-King as easily as you sound like it. I bet you're still scared to even look at a painting of him." Ankh chuckled. Gara snarled before he extended his arm, grabbing hold of Ankh's arm as Cell Medals began to be transferred over to the Alchemist!?

Ankh gritted his teeth as more medals began to escape from his arm. "What are you doing…!?"

" **I know what I can do to you, Ankh. I made you and the Greeed after all."** He reminded before tossing him to a pillar.

"Just why are you here!?" He demanded.

Gara tapped his chin, " **Why? Oh, why it's because of the young man you seem to be watching over,"** He chuckled, pointing at… me?

"What has Enrique got to do with this!?" Blake demanded.

" **It's simple… he is the perfect vessel I have been searching for over 800 years."** He replied. " **You see… this planet was full of so many desires that my project couldn't find the right vessel. And so… I tried to test the potential of Core Energy that I took myself into another world, similar to this world!"**

"Another… world…?" Weiss got out.

" **Correct and when I thought my project could never be accomplished… I found the perfect vessel and it all started** _ **five years ago**_ **. A young boy..."** My eyes widen upon what he was talking about. " **Ah, it seems you know what I am speaking of, don't you?"**

Memories of the accident and the death of my mom and little sister flashed back in my head, making me tremble while Gara laughed. " **You see, he was the perfect vessel! I watched from afar, seeing that child grow up with nothing for five years! A young man who hardly had any friends, a young man who suffered so much. A young man who became selfless and eventually...** _ **no**_ **desires. The** _ **perfect**_ **vessel."**

"Enrique…. came from another world?" Jaune said, the others who didn't know turning to me with shocked expressions. Ruby, Ankh, and Blake looked away since they were the only ones I told about my origins.

" **He was indeed. Earth, a planet that went through many wars. Many troubles, throughout the years."** The alchemist laughed. " **And he is the perfect subject for my project. You see, it was I who brought you here into Remnant, boy."**

"What…? Then that cell medal dome…"

" **It was one of my transportations but to think that Ankh encountered you. Seems like old times doesn't it,** _ **Ankh?**_ **"** He then reached to his side before pulling out an ancient box that was circular but the image on the box had images of… dinosaurs…? Wait… don't tell me… " **And now I will begin where I should have started."**

"Those are!" Ankh gasped, "You're insane! The King sealed those away with his power! Not even you can break it!"

" **Times have changed Ankh."** He used his newly gained power to break it open, revealing 10 Purple Cores. He grabbed five as he presented them to us as they began to glow. " **Now… fetch."** He tossed them as the five Cores literally were flying around.

"What are you doing?!" Ruby shouted with worry.

" **Oh little one, don't you all remember? The boy is the perfect** _ **vessel**_ **."**

Blake's eyes widen, "No… you can't do that to him…." She said with fear.

The Cores floated around more before they soon began to surround me, making me go pale. Those Cores… those were the same ones tha t-

Before I can think further, the five Cores entered my chest, a purple glow pulsating with each one entering my body. When the fifth core entered my chest, my body felt weak as my vision began to become a blur. No… I couldn't… I fell to my knees as Gara laughed as we saw him say his last words. " **Have fun~"** He laughed before he vanished and everything went black.

* * *

I slowly regained consciousness as my vision was blurry at first. Trying to remember what happened, I remembered Team RWBY, Ankh, and I were looking around since the Vytal Festival will start in two weeks. I then remembered the man calling himself Gara who carried an ancient box that released….

My eyes widen in realization before I quickly sat up.

"You're awake!"

I turned my head and saw Ruby and the others along with Ankh who was staring at me, more like staring at my heart would be.

"Yeah…" I responded.

"Are you alright?" Blake asked.

"I'm… fine. I remembered what happened earlier." I answered.

"It seems you are alright after what happened as well," another voice said. I turned my head and saw the school nurse who was going through some data on his Scroll.

"What do you mean?"

"We need to confirm it though," he said. "If you may, can you tell us where that man placed those items?"

When he said 'items', my eyes were filled with horror. And I first thought was a dream upon remembering what that Gara man did but hearing those made me scared. I wanted to know so I quickly removed my shirt, revealing my torso as I place my hands where the said items are, in a panic. After spending my time training often, I never got a chance to see how much I changed. But now, the slight skinniness had been replaced with a well-toned body. I wasn't buff at all, but still looking fairly decent.

I then forgot that Team RWBY was here, making me inwardly facepalm. I hate to admit, there I time that I can be an idiot and Ankh would agree to it so I put my shirt back on before I can receive more stares from Yang.

"Man, you hit the jackpot Blake." Yang smirked, eyeing me as Ruby faced away.

The doctor began to do a scan of my chest as the data was being transferred to a screen on the wall. When it was done, it revealed the image of what was inside. What we saw in the image shocked the group but for me to panic. The image displayed five Core Medals in my body, from what seems to be around my heart.

"Those are…" Ruby started.

"The first Five Core Medals that Gara placed inside him." Ankh finished. "I would never expect Core medals being able to rest inside a human being than a homunculus…"

"Isn't there anyway we can remove them?" Weiss turned to the nurse.

"After what you have told us, we planned on doing so but seeing where those items are now, the process is very dangerous due to those items around his heart. If we were to perform the surgery, we don't know what will happen if we removed them, away from his heart." The doctor explained.

"So…. is it hurting him?" Ruby asked with worry.

"Strangely, no…" He sighed. "I don't know how it is even possible for those kind of items to not be able to hurt him." He then looked at me. "Do you feel any pain at all?"

I slowly placed my hand on my chest before I shook my head. "I… I don't…" I replied.

"I see…" The nurse wrote a few things down, "I suggest you to take it easy for the next 3 weeks. Just to be safe since we don't know what these things can do."

"Wait, three weeks?!" Ruby gasped, "But the Vytal Festival starts in two! Enrique won't be able to compete!"

"It is best he rests," He replied.

"But-"

"I'll be okay, Ruby…" I assured.

She lowered her head, sadden that I'll have to miss out on the tournament. I forgot that if teams are registered and win their first match, they're out of the tournament.

Ankh though turned around and began to walk towards the door, "Hold it!" The Bird Greeed stopped, Yang stood up and glared at him, "Where do you think you're going?" She asked him.

"Heading back to the dorm, what do you think?" He responded.

"Seriously?" She frowned, "You're not going to help us find that Gara guy and pummel him?"

"Finding him will end up with your deaths," He warned.

"What's that suppose to mean!?" Weiss argued.

Ankh turned around as we could see the rage in his eyes. "Gara isn't an ordinary man, he is just like the Multi-King, craving for power, the lust for the Godhood _his majesty_ couldn't achieve 800 years ago." He explains in distaste. "He was the one who created us Greeed and the O-Driver. He has the ways to kill and since he turned himself into a monster to roam for the past 800 years without anyone noticing, you tell me?"

"If he's just like the Greeed now, we can beat him!" Yang argued.

"There were no Core Medals inside that madman, you idiots!" He announced.

"But what if-"

As they argue, I simply stared at the image of the Cores that were inside my body. I was very scared and horrified to what happened to me. The purple Cores were the Cores that made Eiji slowly turn into a Greeed but this time… this time Gara is the one who made those Cores enter my body and now… now I'm scared of becoming a Greeed...

"Enrique?" Blake had a worried look, placing her hand on top of mine's.

I turn my head to look at her before looking away while Weiss and Yang look at me as well. "So… what Gara said about you being from some other world… was it true…?" Yang asked.

I lowered my head and saw there was no point of hiding it anymore. "He was telling the truth…" I confessed. "I'm not from here…"

"Why didn't you tell us? I thought we were a team." Weiss questioned.

"Like you guys would have believed me?" I countered.

"We're your friends Enrique. If you said you were a prince, we would believe you." Yang said, her arms crossed.

"It's not easy to explain to people." I argued. "I mean who would believe I was from some planet where we went through wars worse than this? Even with no Grimm, we still endure the conflicts."

"Enrique, we would've believed you. We're your friends and your team." Weiss said. "I'm shocked to think you would believe that we wouldn't care or trust you, after everything you have done for us, every time you believed in us. And you think we wouldn't after everything?"

I could only look away. "Just go…" I said softly. "Please…"

"Enrique, you can't expect us to-" Blake tried to argue.

"Just go."

"But Enrique-"

"I just want to rest, so go…" I laid down as I turned away from them but the moment I looked away, I finally let out some tears due to what is going to happen to me soon. I didn't want to be bothered… I just… I just wanted to be left alone so I can rest...

"Come on…." Yang said, placing her hand on Blake as they all made their way out of the room.

* * *

" _This man is what?" Glynda got out._

" _You heard me, blondie," Ankh informed. He was in Ozpin's office after being called up regrettably by the headmaster due to the 'man' that showed up out of nowhere and now Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwood were listening to every word the Bird Greeed was saying. "That was Gara, the damn Royal Alchemist. He had the gall to show up and now my charge has some items inside him."_

" _How is he still alive after all these centuries? It's impossible." Ironwood said._

" _That was because he turned himself into this," He got out his Scroll, showing the image of Gara. "That madman made himself a monster full of Cell Medals. In other words, he made himself a homunculus."_

" _By Oum…." Glynda gasped._

" _So… he's after Enrique then…." Ozpin frowned at this._

" _That is the thing, I don't know what that sick bastard is planning but it has something to do with those Cores," Ankh huffed. "Right now, Gara is holding onto five in some box he carries."_

" _And the other five?"_

" _What did you think when I said 'items inside him'?"_

" _We need to remove them before he spawns a new enemy." Ironwood said, standing up and about to walk out to get him to surgery._

" _You do that, you kill my charge and the Greeed would see it as a chance to take over," Ankh informed, "Those Cores are very close to his heart, one mistake and he would die."_

" _Then what can we do? We can't let that young man burden with something so dangerous!" He argued._

" _Simple, do nothing until we see what happens. Something tells me those Cores will do something sooner or later."_

" _How can you be so sure?"_

" _I'm a Greeed, what do you think?"_

* * *

Night time was around as I struggle to fall asleep after what happened earlier. I just couldn't sleep… all that happened earlier was scaring me to the point that I was afraid of what will happen when I fall asleep.

But as soon as I turn my head, I see Blake, Ruby, Yang and even Weiss, all asleep on the ground near me, in their sleeping bags. While they did sleep, it was obvious they had worried looks on their faces.

"They asked if they could stay until the morning…." I turned my head to see Ankh, up late again eating his ice cream. "I know you're scared Enrique…" He turned to me, "You may not know this, but before the King sealed himself, he was worried about those Cores that Gara made, without his permission. He could sense the energy just as much as me with those…. Hence why he used his best mages to seal them away…. Until now that is…. That bastard.."

"But why me…?" I muttered.

"He said so himself, you have no desires due to your selflessness," He took a bite of his ice cream. "And whatever those Cores are, it reacted to you. I'm still wondering just what type of Cores those were."

"Sounds you care about my safety," I chuckled softly.

"Tch, I am only making sure you live through this," He tossed the finished ice cream in the garbage before heading to the dorm, "Also, Kitty cat was more worried than you even notice." He closed the door of the infirmary.

I turned to see her hugging my spare pillow, some tears in her eyes. Was she that worried after what happened to me…? I never thought she would care that much… I slowly sat up from the bed before I quietly got off the bed before approaching her sleeping bag, "Blake…" I called out softly.

"Ngh…. Enrique?" She rubbed her eyes, slowly waking up.

"Ankh told me why you guys are here… are… are you really that worried?" I asked.

"Of course we are…." She looked at me, a sadden, yet worried look on her face, "We care about you Enrique…. You're family…."

"F-Family…?" I got out. "You guys consider me family…?"

"Of course we do."

Family… it was something I haven't had for 5 years...but now… now it felt like they were in front of me. My friends… they were here for me… and I never realized that they are also family. I slowly wrapped my arms around her, hugging her. "Thank you…" I thanked softly.

Blake smiled softly, hugging me back, "Please.. Don't ever feel like you can't talk to us.. We're here for you… Now… can you not go off on your own this time, and just sleep?"

I slowly nodded before I got back up and went to the medical bed, laying down as I look out the window. The shattered moon above my head as I smile softly before drifting to sleep once more.

' _A family….'_

* * *

 _Gara was writing down notes upon the result of earlier. The Cores indeed were absorbed into his body, making the young Rider into the vessel he had been seeking to create. Only now, he needed to to test the first part of the phase. Grinning evilly, he grabbed a photo and tore it apart. When he finished, he tossed it to the ground. He dug into his chest before pulling out a cell Medal. Only this one had the image of a dinosaur, a T-Rex. "Now… let's see how you will fare against them." He mused before a slot formed on the photo and tossed the medal inside._

 _What poured out wasn't just a regular Yummy. It wasn't covered in bandages. It was a fully grown Yummy, based on the T-Rex Cell Medal he tossed in, but the night and shadows covered it, only partially the head can be shown._

" _Kill his friends." Gara commanded._

 _It nodded before walking away as Gara smiled maniacally as he began to prepare himself to watch what will happen._

* * *

Morning finally came around as I slowly opened my eyes. A soft blush overcoming me as I soon see Blake snuggling up to me once more! "B-Blake!" I stammered. "Can you wake up, please! Y-You're on the bed, not the sleeping bag!"

"I know…. Hmm… comfy…" She said softly, nuzzling into my chest more.

"C-Can you please get off?" I asked.

"No….." She purred.

"Aw, look at the cute couple," I jumped as I turn my head to see Ruby, Weiss, and Yang now awake with the latter having a grin.

"Y-Yang, it's not like that!" I argued.

"Oh? She's snuggling with you. I don't know about you, but when a girl does that, she li-" A pillow smacked her face, Blake while still leaning, had her arm in the arm.

"Uh… I'm going to go get breakfast." Ruby gulped, as she sped off, not wanting another punishment.

"Same here!" Weiss agreed before leaving.

"Um… I think breakfast does sound nice," I nodded before getting off the medical bed and followed the two.

"Hey, wait for me you guys!" Yang called out.

Blake sighed, standing up, "Guess I'll come too…" She said, wanting to stay by me a bit longer.

All five of us made our way to the cafeteria to get some breakfast and luckily there was no class for today. Along with Team JNPR, we began to enjoy our breakfast but for me… I was still worried about those Cores that are inside me.

"Hey, don't be like that Enrique. Try and smile." Pyrrha said to me.

I raised my head to look at my friends before a small smile crept on my face. "I guess so… sorry… it's just that I hope there is a way for those Cores to go away…"

Ruby frowned for a moment before her eyes lit up, "Ooh! How about we all head to town and hang out!" She suggested. "All eleven of us."

"Eleven?"

"Ankh and Akira, included." She explained.

"Yeah! Sounds like fun." Jaune nodded.

"Count us in," Nora beamed.

Ruby looked at me, "You too, Enrique."

"Me?" I blinked.

"Yeah, you're coming along as well. No excuses."

Yang chuckled, patting Ruby's head. "She's got you there Enrique. Besides, it gives us a lot of time so you can tell us about your home."

"I _might've_ been curious to hear about your world." Weiss huffed.

"Tsundere.." I chuckled.

"What does that even mean!?" She said with confusion.

"A person who is initially cold and even hostile towards another person before gradually showing their warm side over time," I grinned.

The others looked at each other then at Weiss with Yang saying, "That fits her for who she is." Weiss became embarrassed as she looked away.

"Come, let's go!" Ruby declared.

* * *

We went to town but at first Ankh didn't want to come along until Yang and Akira dragged him along. At first he planned on escaping via arm but Yang made sure he didn't try. RIght now, we were east in the city as we began to explore a bit as we all were enjoying our time.

"So wait, your home literally has no-"Pyrrha covered Jaune's mouth so that no one else hears about it.

"Yeah but we still have troubles throughout the years. We even went through two worlds wars, it's like your Great War but on a global scale." I explained. "Believe me, those were tough times even one time when people were poor back then until a man wrote a plan that helped everyone."

"Wow…" Ruby said in awe. "What about the technology?"

"Well… there are some things we are not advanced with," I admitted. "But there are some countries that are ahead in terms of technology. Like Japan for example."

"Japan? Is that a fruit?" Nora asked.

"No, it's a country. Known as the land of the rising sun." I corrected. "Plus, they have tradition. And during an era called the dynasty, they had samurai who followed honor, ninjas, kunoichis, and shoguns."

"They have those?" Blake asked, surprised yet excited before quickly becoming quiet.

"Yeah," I caught her question. "And Japan also have these plants called cherry blossoms. In the spring, the trees bloom pink petals that eventually flow against the wind."

"Sounds romantic…" Weiss smiled, fantasizing about it.

"What about your home?" Akira asked.

"Oh well my home is called the United States of America," I smiled. "It's called the Land of the free and the home of the brave. There are 50 large masses of land called States and we have different branches of military unlike Atlas."

"Amazing…." Pyrrha gasped.

"What else does this, 'America' have?" Weiss asked.

"Within the states, there are numerous cities but there's one capital that is considered the capital of the country: Washington D.C. That is where the most important figure is at, the president who is also commander-in-chief of the military." I continued.

"Hmph… Sounds like a boastful of arrogance to me." Weiss huffed.

"Oh and we don't have or use Dust," I added.

"That's impossible! How is your world still running itself?" Weiss gasped, as the others were also surprised to hear this.

"That's because we have our own way to using energy. We use electricity, fossil fuels which are found underground, oil, even using solar energy from the sun," I listed.

"That's quite impressive, Enrique." Pyrrha complimented while Weiss cross her arms.

"Do you miss home?" Blake asked, making me stop where I stood. "Enrique?"

"I…" I got out, raising my head until I felt pain in my head for the first time. The others saw how I was as Ruby knelt down, "Enrique, what's wrong?"

I couldn't speak up until Ankh turned around. "Yummy." He said.

We turned around to where Ankh was facing and saw a Yummy completely different than the previous Yummies we have faces. The Yummy that made some of the civilians run away, the street becoming empty, was a humanoid tyrannosaurus rex with a few armor pieces on its body while carrying a club that was made of ice that looks like it hasn't melt at all.

Wait, a Dino Yummy!?

"What the…" Ankh got out.

"Wait, there's a Reptile Greeed?" Yang got out, turning to Ankh for some answers. "Another thing you 'forgot' to tell us?"

"I don't know but I know this has Gara all over it!" Ankh growled.

It first turned to Ruby, it's deep purple eyes glowing softly, **"Erase family."** It said out loud.

My eyes widen before looking at Ankh as I placed in O-Driver on my waist while Ankh handed me the King Combo as I place them in while Akira placed in his Birth Driver and Cell Medal.

"Henshin!" We said in unison.

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

With Akira and I in our respective armor, we gout our respective weapons while Team RWBY and JNPR did the same with their weapons. "Be careful, this Yummy must be different than the others," Akira informed us.

"Right," I nodded.

It scoffed as a swing of it's tail shot several shards of ice at us, we blocked but it hurt a lot more than the regular Yummies or even Greeed's attack. It charged ahead striking us down as it began to rush towards Ruby.

"Leave her alone!" Yang shouted, charging ahead, but as soon as her fist made contact, her hand was quickly frozen in ice before a ripple of purple energy forced her away.

"What was that?" Ankh got out, surprised.

"How should we know!?" Yang asked, breaking away the ice on her hand.

I charged forward with the Tora Claws out as I began to strike the Yummy but it was blocking some of my strikes until Akira joined in as he was equipped with Shovel Arm, ready to strike the new Yummy to its chest.

It turned around quickly, striking Akira with it's club as it tossed him into a few buildings near by. **"Target, injured. Returning to task…"** It said, turning back to Ruby. She began to back up until she was unable to move, she looked down to see her legs covered in ice as it began to move up towards her body at a rapid rate.

"Help me Enri-" She was unable to finish her sentence as she was soon covered in ice, head to toe.

My eyes widen in horror as the memory of what happened to Marie in the accident returned. "N-No…"

"YOU BASTARD!" Yang shouted out, her hair ablaze and her eyes turned red as she charges in, wailing on the Yummy as it turned to her.

" **Next Target."**

"Yang, move away from it!" Akira shouted, shooting the Yummy in the back.

"NO! It needs to pay!" She shouted, tears in her eyes as she continues to strike it, not knowing her weapons having little effect on it. The Tyranno Yummy snorted, gripping her head tightly as ice began to form on her head.

"L-Leave them alone! Stop it now!" I said in fear as I got up to strike the Yummy with the Tora Claws once more.

" **No…"** It said, freezing Yang as well, before turning to Weiss. **"Next Target."** It used its tail to smack me away, walking towards the now scared heiress.

"Weiss get away from it, hurry!" I pleaded as I got hold of the Yummy.

She was unable to respond, her eyes hazed over as her body trembled. She was frozen with fear as it soon approached her, freezing her in place as well. More memories of my family appeared in my mind, along with RWBY as each one's face shattered into bits…. Only leaving Blake left.

My eyes widen as I turn to Blake, ' _No…. not her….'_

"Enrique! Snap out of it!" Ankh shouted, smacking my helmet. "You and Akira have to beat the Yummy! Just fight it!"

I looked at the Yummy in question before I grabbed the Medajalibur and let out a battle cry with the blade. When I got close, I struck its back before unleashing a few more swift strikes as some medals finally began to spill from its back.

It turned to me, snorting, **"Fine. I'll make you watch as I freeze her, then shatter them all."** It said to me, turning as it smacked me with it's club. Sparks fly off as I was tossed a bit ways from it.

"I won't let you harm Blake you bastard!" I argued as I struck the Yummy more and more until the next swing made it catch the blade in its grip.

" **As if you have any power over me…."** The Yummy chuckled, sending several more ice shards at me, **"You're weak. That's why you lost your family. And one reason you'll lose this one too."** It soon lifted it's club as that same purple energy poured into it as it made one swing, striking me as sparks bled off of me and forced me out of my armor.

"Enrique!" Blake shouted, gasping as she sees several injuries on my body. I tried to get up but from the attacks it delivered, I was barely able to stand up as I try to focus on my aura. However, I saw the Yummy approaching me as it had its club in its grip, making me tremble. I slowly walked back knowing that my injuries are still on my body despite the Aura doing its best to heal it. The Tyranno Yummy marches up to me before raising its ice club, aimed at my head, ready to end me.

"ENRIQUE!"

The moment the Yummy swung its club, my body felt a sudden surge of foreign energy as I saw three of the five Cores leaving my body before hitting the Yummy back. However, my mind became a blur the moment the three Purple Core Medals place themselves onto the O-Driver.

* * *

 _The group saw purple glow surround Enrique's body as Blake, Team JNPR, Ankh, and Birth were treated with a shocking sight._

 _Three Purple Cores come out of his body to defend him before they place themselves on the O-Driver. Enrique's eyes changed to purple, similar to Yang's eyes turning red when she is mad. The O-Scanner levitated out of the side of his belt before scanning the three Cores now on the buckle._

 _ **PTERA!**_

 _ **TRICERA!**_

 _ **TYRANNO!**_

 _ **PU-TO-TYRA NO ZAURU~!**_

 _Ice began to form around the area, trapping the Yummy in it before it shattered as it revealed Enrique in a new type of armor that even Ankh has never seen before._

 _His suit had changed drastically. The undersuit was no longer black, but a metallic white. His legs were donned in segmented, purple plate armour which ended in steel reptilian feet. His hips were protected by more segmented armour._

 _His torso bore the combined crest of three Medals but with a raised golden edge around it. His shoulders bore thick purple armour with a gold horn on each one. His gauntlets had a trio of stubby horns on them and looked capable of crushing stone on a whim._

 _His helmet looked like a reptilian creature with its wings spread out with large green eyes and a jeweled beak. Trailing down his back were a pair of sheets of steel which looked like wings._

" _RRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" He roared as a pair of wings and a tail appeared before it disappeared, the ice around Ruby, Weiss and Yang shattering as it freed them before his visor was locked onto the Yummy._

* * *

 **(Cue PuToTyra Combo - Power to Tearer)**

Ruby and the others quickly regained some of their sense, though shivering from the cold before they were all shocked upon seeing his new armor. "Ankh did you ever see this Combo…?" Ruby asked.

Ankh was still speechless upon seeing the armor. "No… I haven't. I have _never_ seen that type of power over the past 800 years." He answered. "This is something different."

The Rider punched the Yummy back as this sent the behemoth flying. His new strength was intense for it made the Yummy look weak. The low growl and ragged breath was heard from OOO, it was like he became a beast.

OOO's eyes flashed as he plunged his hand into the ground. Purple cracks spread out of the impact point before he pulled his hand out, which was now holding a weapon. It looked like some sort of battle axe.

He charged towards the Yummy and began to swing the weapon at it mercilessly, hacking away at its hide, and spilling Cell Medals to the ground. The way he was fighting showed no mercy, no remorse, no control over his own actions. If was as if he went out of control, going berserk.

"So much power…." Yang got out.

The Yummy tried to swing its club at the Rider but OOO caught the club before he tightened his grip, the ice slowly cracking before it was shattered by his own hand. " **W-Wha-"** OOO interrupted him as a tail formed on his back and swung the Yummy to the wall, making OOO roar at it before rushing towards it.

He began to strike him rapidly, causing more Cell Medals to bleed out of it before he gripped it's arm, literally tearing it off and watched the limb turn into cell medals. This made RWBY and JNPR gasp in shock from it.

"He's… like a wild animal…" Ruby gasped.

"Or like a Grimm….." Ankh growled.

"How is he able to even use those? I thought they were dangerous? How come it can become a Combo?" Jaune asked, helping the others who were frozen away from the fight.

"I don't know…" Ankh admitted as OOO began to bash the Yummy's head to the ground. This was not like Enrique at all. He had never been so brutal in combat.

They watched as OOO soon had wings formed as he grabbed the Yummy, dragging it across the ground, as the concrete was being torn from the dragging. It groaned, more Cell Medals bleeding from it's body as it stood up, it glared at Ruby and the others, about to march towards them, but it was unable to. It looked down, and much to the surprise of RWBY, JNPR, Akira, and Ankh, it's legs were frozen, unable to move.

OOO dropped to the ground, his feet cracking the concrete upon landing and not too far from it, as this new form began to glow, it's eyes shining softly before it grabbed the O-Scanner, quickly swiping the Medals, as the chime sounded off, along with the new Combo Symbol glowed from it.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

The shoulder spikes grew before piercing the Tyranno Yummy's shoulders. His wings and tail sprout from his back before the wings made the Yummy frozen in ice. With this, OOO uses his tail as he swings it at the frozen Yummy, completely obliterating it into shards, with only one Cell Medal present from its body.

 **(End Song)**

OOO slowly turned its head to the others along with Birth as they heard him growl. "You guys need to get back…" Birth said to the two Teams.

Before they knew it, OOO charged towards them as Birth blocked the attack before kicking him back. However, he wasn't fazed one bit as OOO struck Birth across the chest before grabbing his neck and chucked him to the wall.

Birth got back up before he placed in a Cell Medal in his Driver and twisted the knob twice.

 **DRILL ARM!**

The Drill Arm soon equipped to his right arm before he swung it at OOO before going for his chest but shockingly the purple-armored fighter caught it as the drill stopped moving in his grip.

"Oh sh-"

Before he can finish, OOO punched him in the face before using the Tyranno tail and swinging him across the area, crashing into a tree. He then turned his head to the two teams as they looked conflicted on what to do.

They didn't want to hurt their best friend. They can't. However just as he was gonna go after them, Birth fired rounds onto OOO's back with the Birth Buster, making the berserk fighter's attention focused on him.

"Enrique, you gotta snap out of it!" Birth shouted. "Don't you recognize me!?"

His words were deaf to OOO's ears as the latter charge towards Birth once more, causing him to go on the defensive. "Ruby! Yang! You and the others go! I'll try to get Enrique back to his senses!" He barked, blocking another strike from the axe.

"But Mr. Akira-"

"If you stay here any longer he will hurt you guys! Go!" Birth shot back before a tail slammed him in the gut, sending him to the wall.

The armor canceled out, revealing Akira with some injuries. "Damn…" He groaned in pain.

OOO slowly walks towards Akira with his axe ready to kill. Blake couldn't watch Enrique experience this any longer so she ran towards him and Akira.

"Blake, wait!" Yang called out to her partner.

Blake ran towards Akira who stares at OOO with his axe. The armored huntsman-in-training growled before raising its axe down at his opponent but Blake got in the way.

"Blake!" Yang and Ruby called out.

Blake closed her eyes but what felt like minutes, she didn't feel the attack. She opened her eyes and saw the blade close to her as OOO's ragged breaths was slow but steady with an occasional growl. This gave her the chance to speak up.

"Enrique, I know you're in there. Please, come back." She pleaded. "You said that you will always reach out to help us." OOO stares at her as she continues, "I know you had a rough life in the past before you met us. No one reached out to you after your family died." She looked at him, her amber eyes meeting his green lenses as tears welled up in her own. "Then let us be there to reach out to you. Let us be there to help you. When you are in pain, let us be there to take your hand."

Upon hearing this, her words must have gotten to him as he dropped the axe and roared. Blake flung her arms around him as OOO roars at the air before he began to place his hands on his helmet, feeling the pain as if he was trying to fight back with the crests flashing. Before they knew it, he went back to civilian form but he became unconscious the moment he did as Blake had him gently in her arms with the Purple Cores flying out of the buckle.

As the purple Core Medals tried to fly back into Enrique's unconscious body, Ankh shot from his human host to grab them. When he tried to absorb them, he was flung back by a charge of purple energy that flung him back towards his host, forcing him back on. Ankh stared at his hand, eyes wide as he stared at the purple Core Medals before they reentered Enrique's body.

"What...was that power...?"

Ankh felt it. It was like it wanted to end all that a person desires. It was as if the new Cores are an antithesis to Desires. Bringing an end to all things.

Meanwhile in Beacon, Ozpin and Glynda saw what had just occurred to their own student. Gara used those Cores from two days ago to make Enrique a berserker in the armor, mercilessly killing the Yummy and injuring Akira due to the state.

"Ozpin… just what has happened to Mr. Alderete…?" Glynda asked, shocked to what occurred.

"I do not know but something tells me that Gara is planning something." He answered as a grim look appeared on his face, "and it might end our student's life and possibly the worst yet to come..."

With Gara who watched from the distance of the event that had occurred. He had an evil grin upon seeing the result. "It is only a matter of time before he soon becomes one." He looked at the stone case. "And he _will_ become the perfect vessel that the likes of Remnant has ever seen for 800 years." He walked away, laughing.

Cinder herself had also witnessed everything that happened via her Scroll. She played back the footage and then paused it before zooming in on OOO's purple form.

"This form…. This… power….." She gained a soft devious grin, touching the screen that showed off the new form. This was absolute power, one that could not be stopped by any means, asides from what Blake did, this was one that could rival or even beat that other power. And she wanted it and him, much more than before.

The combo showed so much that no attack stopped him. It was like the combo was invincible.

"The Invincible Combo…" Cinder grinned, "A perfect title for him in that form…."

"You sure it's wise to go after him now Cinder?" Emerald questioned. "That form is much more dangerous than the others…."

"I'm sure. He _will_ join us by the end of the Tournament." Cinder said.

She knew that the kunoichi was the only one to stop the young Rider but how was the question.

One thing is for sure, if she gets him to join, her plans will progress far more quicker than before.

* * *

 **Blazing: Taka (x1), Kujaku (x1), Condor (x1)**

 **Scorching: Lion (x1), Tora (x2), Cheetah (x1)**

 **Strongest: Kuwagata (x1), Kamakiri (x1), Batta (x1)**

 **Legendary: Kobura (x1), Kame (x1), Wani (x1)**

 **Water: Shachi (x1), Tako (x1), Unagi (x1)**

 **Gravity: Sai (x1), Gorilla (x1), Zou (x2)**

 **Invincible: Ptera (x2), Tricera (x2), Tyranno (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"I don't want to use the O-Driver…" I answered. "I'm afraid of going into that combo again…"

" _I am gonna help him," Blake decided._

I never thought it would happen to me. It was a lost feeling to me.

 **Next Time:** Fear, Comfort, The Lost Feeling

* * *

 **A/N:** Well that is it for this chapter folks! It seems that Gara has returned and turned our Rider into the powerful PuToTyra Combo! What is the mad Alchemist's plan? What will happen to OOO? Well, you all will have to find out soon. And seeing the preview, you all might guess what will happen? Anyways don't forget to check out my other stories and look forward to the next chapter. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	28. Chapter 27: Fear, Comfort, Lost Feeling

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 27th chapter of OOO! From where we left off, OOO obtained the Purple Core Medals from the alchemist Gara, with the Rider earning the PuToTyra combo and defeated a Yummy created by Gara. And with the kunoichi somehow stopping him from harming Akira further. Now what will happen? You all have to read to find out.

Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc.).

Don't forget to check out my other stories as well.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _A couple of hours have passed since the fight against the new Yummy along with the sudden appearance of the unknown Full Combo that somehow formed from the unknown Core Medals. However, the new Combo made the young Rider go berserk, making him go out of control as he nearly killed Akira until Blake somehow managed to make him stop._

 _As of now, the two teams, along with Akira and Ankh, were at the infirmary as they looked at the unconscious Rider. Enrique was lying in bed, unconscious, and recovering from his ordeal._

 _"Please tell me you knew that those Medals could do that," Akira asked the Bird Greeed._

 _Ankh huffed, crossing his arms, "How should I know? Even I wasn't aware of what they could do."_

 _"And what about you trying to grab those Core Medals?" Akira turned to him, accusingly, "Trying to get more power?"_

 _The Bird Greeed looked away, not giving a proper answer, "I'm trying to get a body, what do you think?"_

 _"Yeah right." Akira smirked, before frowning, "Still… This is not a good sign if you ask me. An unknown Full Combo and Core Medals? Plus that unstoppable power makes him a danger…. We need to make sure he never uses them again."_

 _The Bird Greeed scoffed as he looked at his charge. Just what was Gara planning with those Core Medals? At first, he allowed five to enter the Rider's body but why didn't he use all ten…? Why didn't he use them on himself? Was there something that the Bird Greeed himself didn't know? Deciding to ponder the issue and research more later, he got up before heading to the door._

 _"Hey…" Akira called out to him._

 _"What do you want this time?" Ankh asked irritably._

 _"Promise me, you'll protect him too, okay?"_

 _"Che, I am only keeping an eye on him until I get my real body back." Ankh left, slamming the door close behind him._

 _Akira chuckled, "Yeah, sure you do Anko." He smirked, leaning back on the chair._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 27: Fear, Comfort, The Lost Feeling**

 _The next day came, with Blake sitting by Enrique's bedside, worried about him as she sat there, watching the unconscious Rider breathe softly, hoping he would wake up. Ever since yesterday's incident, she had been worried about him. Seeing that unstoppable Full Combo, it made the young Multi-King act like an untamed beast. It was like the Combo was much different than the others they had seen in his arsenal. She visited the infirmary every now and then, even after class to see how he was doing._

 _Gara was responsible for this, for turning Enrique into that Combo… If it wasn't for the mad alchemist forcing the five Core Medals to enter the young man's body, none of this would have happened. But… Gara was also the reason why Enrique was here in Remnant._

 _"Enrique…. Please wake up…" she pleaded to him softly, hoping her voice would reach him once more._

 _"You care about him, huh?" The kunoichi looked back to see Akira carrying the milk tank full of Cell Medals._

 _"I… I don't know what you mean," she responded nervously._

 _Akira chuckled as he set the small canister down on the floor. "I see how you are with him, Blake. It was the same way when I saw Yang's parents when I was your guys' age. You like him, don't you?"_

 _"No…. I… I love him…" Blake blushed. "He's done so much for me… how could I not fall for him?"_

 _The veteran Huntsman smiled as he leaned back on the chair. "A guy who isn't selfish and helps others around him without wanting any thanks," he recalled. "Even more he reaches his hand out to others without hesitation."_

 _She slowly nodded as she looked at the young man, "He would have become cruel and uncaring after all that happened to him and yet… he is still kind and selfless."_

 _"Just shows he has a strong soul," Akira smiled, patting her shoulder, "He'll realize his feelings soon. Trust me on this."_

 _She slowly nodded as Akira grabbed the milk tank before heading to the door. "If Ruby and Yang ask where I am, tell them that I went to the Kougami Foundation to get the Birth Driver checked on since its maintenance day again for it."_

 _Blake nodded. "Just try to make sure they don't try anything funny…. I'm still mad about those pictures she sent you guys…" she huffed._

 _Akira chuckled before he closed the door._

 _The cat faunus looked back as she stares at her crush, wondering if he was in pain after that incident._

 _After a couple more hours, she fell asleep. Her friends stopped by and when they saw her, Ruby placed a small blanket over her shoulders before leaving. They knew how much Blake cared about him. When the moonlight cast down in the now night sky, Blake was still fast asleep until her cat ears, hidden by her bow, twitched upon hearing a soft groan._

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes as I groaned softly from the exhaustion and slight pain in my body. My vision was blurry at first until it cleared up. The memory to how I ended up here returned… I remember what happened… that Full Combo… the same one that made Eiji go out of control in the series…

PuToTyra…the **Invincible Combo**.

More like the **Berserker Combo** if you ask me.

Suddenly, I felt someone's hand on my own. I turned my head over slightly to see a slumbering Blake with her hand on mine.

"... Blake…?" I called out softly.

The cat ears in her bow twitched, causing her to raise her head and yawn before seeing me, "Enrique!" She smiled. "Glad to see you're awake…. How… are you feeling?"

"I feel exhausted… and my head kinda hurts but…" I gulped. "I remember what happened yesterday…. Th-that Combo… it made me go out of control…"

"It's okay. It's over now…." She said softly.

"It's not over…" I denied. "That Combo will come back again if I use the O-Driver and fight…"

"What do you mean…?"

"I can't ever use the O-Driver again…" I answered in fear. "I'm afraid of losing control like that again…"

"Enrique, you won't. I know you; you won't let this thing or power overtake you. You've beaten the odds before, and you can beat this," Blake encouraged, giving her support.

"But I can't! I can't fight or that Combo will show up and make me lose control!" I responded strongly. "I can't beat this! Those Core Medals…are inside me...and I don't want to lose control like that again. That's why I can't use the armor… I just can't or it will show up…"

"Enrique, don't say that," Blake frowned, placing her hand on mine, "You are strong, Enrique. You're brave, and you saved us many times…. Are you willing to give everything you've worked for up, just because of Gara?"

"I don't know, okay! I just can't!" I exclaimed. "I just can't…" Blake remained quiet as I turned away, facing the wall as I wanted to go to sleep. "Just go, Blake… let me sleep… please…"

"Enrique, please don't do thi-"

"Just leave me alone!"

Blake flinched, looking away before she ran out of the room, slamming the door shut on her way out. Seeing her leave, I felt guilty for shouting at her but after what happened to me… I was too afraid of turning berserk… I just can't fight with that armor anymore if that Combo takes me over again.

I was really afraid for the second time in my life.

* * *

 _Inside Team RWBY's dorm, Blake was hugging her pillow, her face buried into it as her teammates watched. They wanted to help, but they didn't know what to say to her to make it better._

 _"I wish there was something we could do…." Ruby frowned._

 _"Like what? You see how Blake is," replied the blonde. "Besides we all can understand how Enrique is feeling."_

 _"He needs to get ahold of himself." Weiss crossed her arms._

 _"And how? We all saw what that Combo did to him," Ruby reminded._

 _Weiss sighed before she said, "Right... I'll go ask Ankh if he at least knows anything about what Gara used to do."_

 _"Good luck with that, Ankh hates that guy to the very core," Yang replied. "I don't think he would want to mention him."_

 _"As do we now," Weiss stated, walking out before the busty blonde followed since she could guess that she would have to hold Ankh back if Weiss ever tried to ask him about Gara. Ruby, on the other hand, stared at Blake before she used the dull end of her Crescent Rose to poke Blake._

 _"Leave me alone, Ruby…" Blake muffled through the pillow._

 _"Blake, I'm sure he didn't mean it," the scythe wielder replied. "He's just scared after what happened…"_

 _"He never yelled at me Ruby….He never raised his voice like that before…" Blake responded, "I'm scared that he might leave Beacon…." 'That he might leave me.'_

 _Ruby frowned before she hopped up and grabbed the pillow and moved it away from the kunoichi._

 _"Blake, I understand. You care about him but he is afraid. He would never leave Beacon since he considers this place home," Ruby informed her._

 _"But-"_

 _"Up up up!" Ruby stopped Blake from continuing. "But nothing, Blake. How much do you care about him?" She_

 _Blake murmured something that Ruby couldn't hear._

 _"Louder," Ruby ordered. "How much do you care about him?"_

 _"I.." Blake murmured once more._

 _Ruby frowned slightly, seeing Blake wouldn't answer clearly. She looked down and saw something, making her grin before she reached down on Yang's bunk to get it. She presented Zwei who barked. Blake's eyes widened, jumping up high, hissing like a cat at the small dog._

 _"I said, 'How much do you care about him?'" Ruby asked once again._

 _"Get that 'thing' away from me, Ruby!" Blake hissed, her hair standing up tall._

 _"Not until you tell me how much you care about him," Ruby refused, the corgi letting out a bark once again._

 _"I LOVE HIM, OKAY?!" Blake shouted, blushing before she covered her mouth._

 _Ruby blinked as her grip on Zwei loosened, dropping him. "You… love… him?" she got out, before smiling. Yang and Weiss were not lying when they said Blake has a crush on the young Multi-King. Blake was now beet red as she raced under her covers, hiding her embarrassment with her blanket. "Then why don't you tell him?"_

 _"Because I'm afraid…" Ruby heard Blake. "I'm afraid he might reject me… every time I had the chance, I ran away because I am afraid of the rejection..."_

 _"Blake….We all know he wouldn't do that." She smiled. "Why don't you just help him right now?"_

 _What felt like minutes, Blake moved the blanket away a bit for the leader of the team to see the kunoichi's face. "What?"_

 _"Just help him get through what is happening to him. I'm sure if you do, he will realize it soon." She moved Zwei to the lower bunk. "So! Tell me, Blake Belladonna, what are you gonna do? Stay here all day or help Enrique?"_

 _"I…. wanna help….." She muttered._

 _"Louder, Blake! What is your choice?" Ruby asked once more, acting like a leader for once._

 _"I want to help him!" Blake shouted, her face getting redder from this conversation._

 _"Good!" Ruby beamed before pushing Blake out of the dorm. "Now go help him."_

 _"B-B-B-But!" Ruby presented Zwei once again, making Blake move away, now heading to the infirmary to see the young Rider._

 _"Good job, Zwei," Ruby congratulated the corgi who barked in response._

 _Blake walked towards the infirmary, her hand over her heart as it beats loudly. She took a deep breath before she enters the infirmary, "Enrique?"_

* * *

Noon came but I remained in bed, still facing the wall as I kept quiet the entire time. I was simply too afraid to use the O-Driver since PuToTyra was dangerous and it made Eiji turn into a Greeed. I didn't want to tell my friends about it either… I didn't want them to get worried or panic...

But how long could I keep this a secret from them?

"Enrique?"

I looked back to see Blake. "Blake, I…," I muttered but I couldn't say anything after I remembered yelling at her earlier. "I'm sorry for yelling at you …" I apologized. "I… I'm just so afraid…"

"It's okay…" she smiled, walking over and tugging my arm, "Come on. I think you need a walk."

"What?" I blinked. "A walk… but… why?"

"Because… I think you need it." she insisted, gently pulling me out of the bed.

"I…" I said hesitantly before complying. "O-Okay…"

Blake smiled softly, hugging my arm as she helped me out of the infirmary and towards the school's garden. Even though I was in slight pain, I wanted to make up for what I did last night. It was the only way for me to make Blake happy...

I admired some of the plants that were familiar to me, the sweet scent lingering in them. Just like back home… some of the plants reminded me of home. I slowly reached towards a plant and gently swiped my hand across it, my fingers brushing against the petals. When it brushed against my fingers, the feeling was soft, even smooth.

Blake smiled, "I….. wanted to ask you a few more things about your world…. If that's okay?"

I glanced back at her before I slowly nodded, "I-It's okay… what do you want to ask?"

"Well…. What about the culture?" she asked, curious to learn about the cultures on Earth.

I chuckled softly, "There is a large amount of culture all around the world. Some have festivals like the country that I mentioned, Japan." I then began to explain to her about the culture of my home country along with Japan since I recalled Blake was interested in it. She was listening to every word I said about the cultures I know, even the festivals they have.

"That's….. amazing, Enrique.." she smiled. "If… you could ever return to your world…. Can…. Can I come?"

I blinked before looking back at Blake, seeing a blush on her cheeks before looking away, "If there was a way…" I replied. "Maybe… maybe I can but... for me, there's nothing to go back to, Blake… Everything I had in the past is gone... "

She placed her hand on my cheek, making me look at her, "You have me, Enrique…."

I suddenly felt my heart skip a beat upon her words, my eyes widen upon the statement. "Blake…"

"You'll always have me…. No matter what… I'll be by your side."

My heart began to race much more than before… I stared at Blake as a blush rose up on my face. I… I was completely at a loss for words. I slowly wrapped my arms around her and pulled her close into an embrace.

"Thank you, Blake…" I thanked softly.

She purred, hugging me back as she smiles, "Anything… for you…"

 _ **"KISS HER!"**_

I blushed before we pulled away and looked back, only to see Yang who had become nervous.

"Uh… whoops… hehe…" the blonde brawler gulped.

" _Yang…_ " Blake called out as she got up.

"But… it would've been perfect!" Yang whined.

Blake took a few steps ahead before Yang bolted, running away like it was the end while Blake decided to give chase, leaving me in the garden with a blush still adorning my face. I watched Blake and once she was gone from my sights, I shook my head before I got up and quickly walked away, unaware of someone else was watching. When I made my way to the empty hallway, I looked at the window, seeing my reflection.

"What's wrong with me…?" I muttered to myself.

I placed my hand over my chest, feeling my heartbeat remain slow and steady. It's strange to what I am feeling. It beat faster when I am near Blake. Whenever I talked to her, it felt… comforting.

Why was I feeling this way…?

Why does my heart beat faster whenever I was near Blake? It was beating faster when we were dancing together along with the kiss she gave me on the cheek, even the time when we went out on our first and second date along with myself kissing her on the first date. I felt worried when she was sleep deprived of finding out what the White Fang was planning all those months ago. The regret of me hurting her during the spar.

The regret for hurting her was much more different from the others. It was like I didn't want to hurt her at all. She even prevented me from hurting Akira as if she could get through the berserk nature of that purple Combo, calming me.

Just thinking about her made my heart race again. That was then I remembered the words that Neptune, Yang, and Sun have been saying to me.

' _Do you like Blake?'_

' _You should ask her, Enrique. I can tell by the look in your eyes and it says it all.'_

' _Dude, you know that look shows you are into her.'_

I gripped my shirt tightly. Is it true to what they said? Was it the feeling I never thought to experience or realize? I never thought I would ever feel like this…

Upon thinking about what has been going on whenever I talk to Blake as well as my friends' words, it finally dawned on me to what I now realized.

"I'm in love with Blake…"

I never thought it would happen to me. It was a lost feeling to me. The feeling of love; I thought after all that has happened to me, I thought it was long gone. I was really in love with her...

"About time you said it." I raised my head to see Ankh in the tree before I looked away with an embarrassed look.

"So what if I am…" I retorted.

"It took you almost two semesters for that brain of yours to finally figure it out," he scoffed. "I say it is about damn time. Now I won't have to keep telling you about that oblivious brain of yours."

"I… I am in love with her…" I got out once more. "I… I never thought I would experience it, Ankh… this feeling..."

"Now, you just need to tell her." Ankh pointed out.

"T-Tell her?" I stuttered. "But how… I mean… I just…"

"Just tell her you love her." He groaned, "I never understand why in this generation, you kids think telling them the truth is the end of the world."

I lowered my head upon his statement. How can I tell her? With what was happening to me… I'm afraid of telling her the feelings that I have finally realized. It wasn't that simple for me to just tell her…

"I… I just need more time before I can…. Tell her…" I sighed

"At least it's better than denying it or keeping it secret." Ankh huffed before tossing an ice cream stick into the garbage can from a short distance and jumped off the branch. "And, you should tell the others the truth as well. Otherwise, their worry will only grow."

I lowered my head upon what he was talking about. I remained quiet before I slowly nodded.

"For once it's about damn time you realize things through that brain of yours." He flicked my forehead before leaving. I rubbed my forehead slightly from what he did before I let out a sigh, placing my hand over my heart.

"To think…. You've had a secret power all this, Enrique…." a familiar voice called out.

I turned around to see Cinder in her uniform.

"Oh, hey Cinder," I greeted. "What do you mean by secret power?"

She grinned, showing the picture of myself in the new Full Combo.

"That's what I mean…." she clarified, walking towards me, "My interest in you is growing even more than before…"

My eyes widened upon seeing the photo.

"Y-you saw what happened?!" I got out.

"Yes…. I did…." she said, with a desirable grin.

I gulped as I moved back a bit. "I-I see…" I responded nervously as I took a few more steps back. "Can you not mention that around me…? I… I don't want to remember what happened…."

"Why not? You have so much power. Able to take out any enemy in your way… Anyone who stands against you will be easily and mercilessly swept away," she said, walking towards me, placing her hand on my chest.

"I'm not like that, okay?" I replied, gently moving her hand away. "All I care about… All I care about is protecting my friends.."

"Don't you want to stop the Greeed? The corruption of this world? The White Fang?" she asked several questions, cupping my cheek.

"I'm not selfish… I help those around me," I replied, moving her hand away again. "Please stop… I… I've recently realized something."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"I… I" I blushed lightly. "I recently realized that I have feelings for Blake…"

Her hand flinched, as a frown appeared on her face, "Feelings? For that Faunus?"

"Yeah… after all-after everything she has done for me… I finally understand, seeing how she felt…" I slowly nodded. "I accepted her for who she is. To me, she is a normal girl who had a difficult life me. I care about her a lot."

"Does she really mean so much to you?"

"Yeah, she does," I nodded once more.

"Even if she is a Faunus?"

"I told you, it doesn't matter what she is, to me she is a normal girl."

She huffed, "I see… I do hope you change your mind…. I find you wasting your talent on keeping it hidden." She said her piece before walking away. I stared at her leave, confused to why she would even say those words to me. Just what was up with her?

* * *

After the strange conversation with Cinder, I made my way back into the school halls as I recalled what Ankh told me. I had to tell the others the truth about me not using the O-Driver until we resolved what was happening to me.

Inside the dorm of RWBY, the girls of Team RWBY were there, along with Team JNPR as they played what looked like to be some kind of game. It looked like a Street Fighter in terms of combat and style. Ruby turned her head, taking notice of my presence and smiled.

"Hey! Wanna play Enrique?" she asked, gesturing to the controller. She was using her Scroll as a controller.

"In a bit…" I smiled softly before my expression changed. "Listen, you guys… I have something to tell you…" Hearing this made the others look at me as I took a deep breath. "I… I can't ever use the O-Driver again…"

The reactions I received were 'Are you crazy?' looks.

"W-What? Why would you want to stop?" Ruby asked, shocked.

"If I keep using the O-Driver then that Combo will take over if I fight a Yummy again…" I answered, lowering my head. "I… I'm afraid of losing control like that again…"

"But you can't, Enrique!" Ruby shook her head, "You're… a hero…"

"I can still fight, even without the O-Driver," I assured.

"You'll die if you do. You don't even have your Semblance." Weiss stated.

"I still have my Aura and the Medajalibur," I added.

"And what about the Greeed, huh?!" Weiss snapped, "Without your powers, you won't last long. Especially against Gara."

"I…" I was stopped when she proved a point. "I don't know…" I admitted. "I just can't use the O-Driver… I don't want to lose control ever again...…"

"So then get stronger!" Weiss demanded. "Are you truly this scared? Then you would've given up long ago, Enrique. You're stronger than this!"

"I can't, don't you get it!?" I shouted, making Weiss flinch. "I could have hurt you guys when I berserk! I don't want to use the O-Driver and end up like that! Don't you all understand what will happen if that Full Combo takes over again!?"

"We do…. We do understand Enrique…." Yang said softly, "We know you're scared… but… without you as OOO, I don't think we can win…."

"I can't, Yang… I just can't, okay? I don't want to hurt you guys…"

"You won't hurt us, Enrique… We know you… You can beat this thing…." Blake assured.

"I don't know if I can…" I admitted. "I know I can't use the O-Driver again, but I'll still help,..."

"Just think about it more, alright?" Pyrrha placed her hand on my shoulder with a soft smile.

I only lowered my head, unable to meet her gaze or give response. Why can't they understand that the Invincible Combo was dangerous? I know they said I wouldn't hurt them but they don't know that…I couldn't guarantee it. They don't know just how dangerous it can be.

They don't even know what the Core Medals were doing to me.

Ruby looked at all of us with a soft expression before her eyes lit up as if she had an idea.

"Hey! How about we all head to the school pool?" Ruby raised her hand, trying to lift up the slightly gloomy atmosphere.

I perked up, rather surprised to hear her suggestion, "The school has a pool?"

"Oh yeah! A big one too." Yang smirked, "And I bet Blake would want to show off her new swimsuit to you." she whispered to me. I blushed as I turned my head away. "Let's get out swimwear and head to the pool!"

* * *

After awhile, Ren, Jaune, and I finally put on our swimwear as the three of us were waiting at the pool for the girls to get finished changing.

Sun and Neptune somehow learned about the gathering and had joined us.

I was wearing black swim trunks that reached past the knees along with a white shirt with a gray stripe on the left side. Ren was wearing green swim trunks and Jaune was wearing a blue pair of swimming trunks with a sleeveless black t-shirt.

Finally the girls showed up at the pool. You know how girls had a huge variety of swimsuit designs and styles to choose from? Well, the girls showed us that.

Ruby wore a swimsuit that looked like a Japanese school swimsuit, only in red. It did have a blank rectangle on her chest for where she would write her name. To be honest, it seemed to fit her.

It also made it very apparent that, for a girl two years Weiss' junior, she had a bigger bust.

Weiss wore a white strapless one piece with a blue snowflake pattern. It accentuated her slender frame. Jaune didn't seem to be complaining.

Yang wore a yellow bikini. She really knew how to flaunt it and the way her chest bounced with each step she took really got Jaune to shift his attention from her slender teammate towards her. Even Neptune let out a whistle in appreciation.

Blake wore a two-piece as well. It was black and the top looked like a turtleneck but the back was left completely bare with a strap going across her shoulder blades. The bottoms looked like very short shorts. She still wore her bow, though.

Nora wore a pink one-piece with a white heart-shaped cleavage window on the chest. It suited her just fine with her cuteness.

Pyrrha was wearing a bikini that matched her hair with gold trim. She looked like a fashion model with how she strutted alongside the girls.

All five of us guys were quiet, seeing their looks and choice of swimwear. But for me seeing Blake's swimwear and her beauty, I had a blush as my heart raced again. I turn away to calm myself down as I took a deep breath once again.

Once I was calm again, I looked at the other boys (except Ren) who were ogling at the girls before I grabbed a whistle and blew it in front of the three boys, causing Jaune, Neptune, and Sun to cover their ears.

"What did you do that for?" Sun asked, rubbing his ears.

"I thought it was the best way to get you guys to stop staring," I shrugged before putting it away.

"What are we waiting for?" Nora said before rushing to the pool, "BANZAI!" She did a cannonball and landed in the pool with a large splash.

"Banzai!" Ruby and Yang followed along as they jumped in the water as well.

Weiss and Pyrrha stepped in the water as the others. Me and Neptune didn't step into the water. I just contented myself with sitting down by the pool and watching the others have fun.

Neptune seemed to just enjoy sitting on the poolside chair, just watching as well.

"Not gonna join them?" Neptune asked me.

"I don't know…" I replied before placing my hands on the back of my head to act as a headrest. "What about you?"

Neptune flinched as he put on a nervous smile. "Nah, I rather lay back and enjoy the scene."

I raised an eyebrow from hearing his nervous tone.

"It sounds like you don't want to go in the water," I observed.

"What? No way! I just don't feel like swimming, that's all!" he denied defensively.

I stared at him for a little longer before I shrugged, "If you say so, Neptune. But knowing you, you'd rather watch them." He chuckled at my remark since he flirted with the girls in the academy. Seriously, he is like Zack when it comes to the flirting.

"Hey, Enrique! Come on in! The water's great!" Ruby suggested.

"I… don't know if I should," I replied. "I'll just sit by the poolside."

"I got us a beach ball to play with!" she gestured to the said object.

"I'll pass," I denied.

"Come on, Enrique. You should join in on the fun," Yang pouted. "Come on, hot babes in swimsuits are waiting for you!"

"Excuse me, but don't lump me in with the rest of you!" Weiss snapped.

"Says the tsundere," I chuckled, receiving a cold glare from her which made me flinch.

Yang looked at me for a moment before a devious smirk formed on her lips. Why is she looking at me like that? Yang got out of the pool before approaching me.

The way the water dripped down her body...

In just a bikini, I could see how fit she was. I gulped as I blushed before looking away to avoid eye contact with the busty blonde. The footsteps stopped as her shadow was over me.

"W-what do you want now, Yang?" I stuttered.

She suddenly got hold of me, causing me to struggle in her grip. "You let your guard down!" she grinned, as she jumped into the water while dragging me in.

I held my breath in underwater before I popped my head out. "What was that for!?"

"So you can join in on the fun," she grinned. "Besides…" She raised her hand as she held the shirt that I wore. "Now you can't complain about being in with us!" She smirked as she looked me over. "Gotta admit, you are packing well. Guess Ankh's training helped you, _a lot_." She winked at me.

"Yang!" Blake whined, causing Yang to roll her eyes before my crush swam over to me, "Is there any water in your lungs?" she asked with some worry.

"Wanted to give him mouth-to-mouth, Blake?" Sun chuckled.

"It's not like that!" Blake stammered.

"Y-Yeah!" I agreed.

"Oh? Then why are you two blushing red?" Nora giggled. "Seems to me that they wanna _osculate_!"

"Nora," Ren said.

"Sorry, Ren."

"Come on, Enrique!" Ruby smiled, splashing me, "Let's just have some fun!"

I looked at them for a moment before a small smile formed. She really does remind me of Marie.

"Sure, why not?" I answered.

"Yay!" Ruby smiled, hugging me before crawling on top of my shoulders, "Time for some chicken!"

"Chicken?" I blinked.

"Oh, you're on!" Nora grinned, sitting on Jaune's shoulders.

"Come on, Enrique! Let's push them in the water!" Ruby declared.

I chuckled, "Alright, here we go!"

I moved forward in the water with Ruby on my shoulders as Nora and Jaune did the same.

"Let's go Jaune! To victory!" Nora shouted.

"You're… heavier than you look… Nora…" Jaune struggled.

"Giddyup!" Nora commanded the blonde.

Jaune grunted, moving forward until Nora and Ruby were at arm's length, pushing against each other, trying to make one of us slip up.

"You can do it, Ruby!" I cheered. "You are a leader after all."

"I-I know… but… Nora is-" And like that, Nora used all of her strength as she forced us underwater.

"You can't handle this!" Nora flexed her arms.

We popped our heads out of the water as Ruby whined, "We were so close."

"You did your best," I assured.

"Bow before the queen, mortals!" Nora laughed before Jaune's legs buckled, the two plummeting into the water.

"It's like the saying, karma hurts," I chuckled as the two rose up as Jaune sighed.

"Just how much pancakes did you even eat?" The leader of JNPR asked the orange haired spitfire.

"I eat till there are no pancakes left!" she beamed. Ren sighed upon hearing her answer.

"En~rique~!" Yang's voice called out nearby.

"What is it, this time, Yang?" I sighed before turning around.

On the edge of the pool, Yang was hugging Blake, almost teasingly as they were very close to each other,

"Like it?" she smirked.

I stammered as a heavy blush was on my face. I mean what do you expect when you turn around to see the two?

"U-U-U-Um…" I stammered more.

Yang chuckled. "He likes it, Blakey." She teased the blushing Faunus.

Sun looked at me before he noticed something, "Uh, dude, why is your nose bleeding?"

I flinched as I slowly placed my hand where my nose is and saw that it was. Why is it… oh…

Yang smirked, pressing closer to Blake. "Truth be told, she asked me to do this…." Yang teased, making Blake blush more.

"E-Eh…?" I stammered more.

"She said something about… 'Wanting to help you out'?"

I blinked in confusion until it registered as my nose began to bleed more, causing me to cover it. "Q-Quit it!" I stammered.

"Aw…. not liking it? I could always _remove_ _them_?" She smirked.

My blush increased upon the image that entered my head before I suddenly felt lightheaded. Before I knew it, I actually passed out from the nosebleed.

XXX

 _"Enrique!" Blake grabbed the young Rider, pulling him out of the water as Neptune was quick on the first aid._

 _"Guess I overdid it," Yang said softly. "Sorry about that." she apologized to her partner._

 _"You think?" Weiss asked sarcastically. "You made him have a nosebleed!"_

 _"Hey, I was just trying to help out!" Yang crossed her arms defensively. "It's not like you don't even have steamy thoughts."_

 _"This isn't about me!" Weiss argued with a flustered look. "You practically made that mind of his overload."_

 _"So… he has an innocent yet oblivious mind?" Pyrrha guessed._

 _"Much more so than Jaune's." Yang pointed out._

 _"I'm right here," Jaune raised his hand from the water._

 _"We know," the others responded in unison._

* * *

"Ugh…" I groaned before I slowly sat up and gripped my head. "Just why did I have to have a nosebleed and pass out?

"Are you okay?" Blake asked, sitting next to me with a worried look.

"I-I'm fine…" I wiped away the specks of blood from my nose before looking at Yang. "Don't ever do that again…" I warned.

"Noted, and sorry," she apologized.

"It's alright," I waved off.

"Still…" Yang poked my head. "You seriously don't know much about that in that brain of yours?"

"Hehehe…" I rubbed the back of my head.

She smiled softly, rolling her eyes, "Though you have to admit. Today wasn't all bad." She winked, leaving me with Blake.

"Where are you guys going?" I asked the others.

"Back to the pool! You're only in the infirmary that is close to the pool. Not that far off if you wanna join us again." Ruby smiled.

"Alright," I nodded before the others left. I looked at Blake. "Should we join them?" I asked with a small smile.

"You think you will be okay?" she asked with worry.

"I'm okay," I assured. "Besides I was enjoying spending time with you guys."

"Okay…" She smiled, taking my hand as she leads me, but not towards the pool, but the other pool area.

"Uh, Blake? Why aren't we going to the other pool with the others?"

"I want this time to be just… us…." she said with a blush.

"Eh? Just the two of us?" I repeated as she nodded softly. She nodded shyly. "A-Alright…"

She smiled, leading me into the indoor pool, it was smaller in size. She leads me into the water, it was much cooler, refreshing than the one outside as Blake was close to me.

"Does… this feel nice?" She asked.

I felt my heart race upon seeing her close to me but it was also comforting. Being near her, it was really peaceful.

"Y-Yeah…" I admitted softly.

She blushed, wrapping her arms around my neck. "Truth... Be told…. You do look good right now…" she said to me.

I felt a blush rising up, "R-Really? I-I mean…" I flustered. "I-I guess it was from a-all the training I got from Ankh a-along with fighting the Y-Yummies and Greeed."

"You… still look nice…" She softly touched my chest. She then looked at me, her eyes shining softly as she slowly leaned forward, her lips getting close to mine. She soon pressed her lips against mine, kissing me softly.

My heart began to race but it slowed down as if the kiss was something that made me feel… loved…and at peace. When Blake pulled away, she blushed realizing what she did as I was left quiet.

"I-I'm sorry Enrique… I….. I just…." It felt like she was gonna run away again before she shook her head frantically before she looks up with a soft smile, "I just love you, Enrique."

My eyes slowly widened. Did she… Did she just tell me her feelings…?

"Blake…" I got out, surprised upon her confession.

"Ever since you helped me out when I revealed my secret, I've had these feelings for you… I didn't realize it until we had our dance…. You have done so much to help us… Even with what you do makes you unique than others… Only now I can't hold it back anymore… I love you, Enrique…."

My eyes soften before I gently made her look into my eyes. "There's something... I should tell you as well…" I responded. "Ever since the dance… I have been having these feelings… To me, it felt unknown after all that happened to me, but now… After what you did to help me for what is happening to me… I finally realized what that Lost Feeling is…" I took a deep breath before I muster up the courage to tell her my feelings. "I… I am in love with you, Blake Belladonna."

She looked at me and before I expected it, she quickly pulled me into another sweet kiss, this one with a lot more passion as she held herself to me, wanting to return my feelings.

After a full minute, she pulled away from the kiss as she looked at me.

"D-Does this mean.. we're in a relationship now…?" she asked.

I nodded, "Y-Yeah… I guess so."

She smiled, hugging me close, "So…. what now?" She asked. "Stay here... and keep it up, or…. go out and tell everyone?"

"W-Well…" I rubbed the back of my head, feeling a little nervous. "I-I guess we can tell the others…"

"Okay…. but… can we stay here a bit longer?" Blake asked. "I'm sure once we tell them, it'll be hard to have time to ourselves until tomorrow."

"Heh, sure thing Blake," I said to her, feeling her hug tighten on me.

"Thank you…" She said softly, nuzzling into my chest.

* * *

After some time to ourselves, Blake and I finally walked out and started our way towards the others, hand in hand. Though we both admitted, this was a bit embarrassing. Once we reached the rest of our friends, they took notice and turned to us, Yang being the first one to notice and gasp.

"Hey! Congrats you two!" she smiled.

Blake and I blushed as I spoke up, "Y-Yeah…" I nodded. "Guess it's obvious, huh?"

Yang walked up to us, patting our shoulders. "Just remember. Now that you two are together, you have to watch each other's backs when we're not around. Okay?" For once she wasn't teasing, but giving sincere advice, one that I was glad to hear.

Ruby and the others came over to congratulate us as well, each one felt warm and welcoming. We both felt embarrassed but at the same time happy to hear.

After a while longer of having fun at the pool, we all decided to head back inside the academy as Blake and I put on our regular clothes and went to the school garden, looking at the plants once more.

Since Blake and I had kissed, we had also agreed to take our relationship slowly. After all, I was inexperienced with this matter, having never been in any meaningful relationships with a girl back on Earth.

"I always feel so relaxed here…. Now…. It's just bliss…" Blake smiled, looking at me as we walked. As we do, she was still is grasping my hand, probably to make sure this wasn't a dream, and I couldn't blame her. "Enrique? Did… you ever have anyone back on Earth, like this?"

I chuckled softly, "To be honest, this is my first relationship," I admitted. "I'm new to this…"

Blake smiled softly, "Same here too… I.. might've have had one crush… but after what happened… I had to leave… You're the only one I've kissed too…" She said with a soft blush.

"I-I see…" I rubbed the back of my head.

"But… I'm glad you're my first…." She smiled at me.

"Same... here, Blake," I responded with a smile. "Ever since the dance… I always thought that feeling was something else but when you helped me… it made more sense. Guess… I should thank you for helping me realize my feelings for you." The cat Faunus blushed upon hearing that her help was the reason why I realized my feelings for her.

"I… didn't know you had those feelings before Enrique… That makes me happy…" She smiled, kissing my cheek.

I felt my face warm up upon the contact as I let out a small smile. To be honest, I was happy that I realized my feelings for Blake. It was… a blissful feeling that I didn't want to lose. Falling in love with Blake… it was one of the moments I never want to forget.

"We should head back," I got up from the bench as I stretched. "After all that swimming and such, I deserve some sleep and a fresh shower."

"Yeah…. Same here…. See you tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Good night."

* * *

 _Blake made her way back to her team's dorm. She was happy… for the first time in her life she truly felt happy. She finally confessed her feelings to the young Multi-King and he reciprocated, telling her his feelings for her._

 _She helped him realize his Lost Feeling. And now she was in a relationship with him. Sure there will eventually be some things they had to work out but she was happy._

 _When she entered the dorm, she saw her teammates waiting for her._

 _"So? How did it go?" Yang smirked at her._

 _"It was… It was bliss…" She replied, using her pillow to hide the blush on her face._

 _Yang and the others smiled, with the blonde Huntress patting her friend on the back._

 _"It about time you two got together. We thought it wasn't going to happen till graduation due to how oblivious he was," Weiss said with a sly smile._

 _"He told me I helped him realize his feelings…" Blake responded shyly._

 _"Aw, how cute," Yang cooed. "Guess all that affection you showed him paid off, even if it took two semesters for him to get it.",_

 _"It's so cute how you two are together!" Ruby giggled._

 _"Th-Thank you, Ruby…" Blake stammered._

 _"Besides, eventually you two might hit it off if you catch my drift," Yang teases the cat Faunus._

 _"Y-Yang!" Blake flustered._

 _"What? Just saying," the blonde shrugged._

 _Ruby blinked, confused to what her sister meant. "I don't get it."_

 _"You'll learn when you're older." Weiss sighed._

* * *

After getting a good shower, I had a towel over my head as I dried my hair. When I was done, my eyes were met with the mirror, seeing myself. A small yet sad frown formed on my face as I realized that I still had those five purple Core Medals inside my body.

Outside of the bathroom, Ankh had an annoyed look on his face, "You need to stop being so depressed…" Ankh scoffed from behind the door.

"You are not the one with those Core Medals inside you, Ankh," I responded.

"Still, you thinking about this will only make it worse," he responded.

"How can I make things _worse_? How can I stop thinking about I?" I demanded. " I went berserk from that Combo and nearly killed Akira."

"It _would_ have been better since I would have more Cell Medals."

"Oi!" Akira's voice was heard from behind the door. "I have to collect Medals too, you know?"

"Like I care," he scoffed.

I was tired so I chose to ignore the argument for the rest of the night as I put on my black pajama shirt. I opened the door and saw the two now trying to fight over the Cell Medals. One person wanted to gather the Medals for money while the other wanted to get his body back.

"You two act like Beowolves fighting over the last piece of meat," I noted.

"As if you can understand the emptiness of not being complete…." Ankh scoffed.

"But I do understand how it is like to be alone, Ankh." I countered before he gave me one of his signature death glares. Seriously that glare of his really is intimidating.

"Now, now, let's not fight you two," Akira got in between. "Let's just all get a good rest and see how it will be tomorrow."

We stared at each other before we nodded while Ankh looks away. "Good! Now see you all in the morning. We need sleep," Akira smiled before he immediately fell asleep in that sleeping bag of his. How does he even fall asleep that fast? Then again, this is Akira we're talking about.

I turned my head to Ankh who got onto his bunk before turning over with his back facing me.

Letting out a sigh, I approached my bunk and fell onto the bed, placing my arm over my forehead as I go into my thoughts.

I was afraid of using the O-Driver because of the Core Medals that now resided within my body and I also realized my feelings for Blake and confessed to her.

But now… I'm worried about her getting hurt if that Combo ever took over again. I turned away, staring at the wall before I slowly closed my eyes, allowing the onset of sleep to take over.

* * *

 _Within an undisclosed area, Cinder leaned against the wall, waiting for her 'partner' to arrive. She had some questions and she needed to know more about that new form._

 _"Surprised a woman like you would be out here alone… Cinder," she turned her head to see Kazari who was also leaning against the wall._

 _"I need some answers, Kazari." She told him._

 _"Oh? And what would that be?" He asked with a toothy grin._

 _She showed an image of OOO in the new Full Combo, making his eyes widen slightly. "What can you tell me about this?" she asked._

 _Kazari stared at the photo before his expression went back to normal as he turned around. "It is something you should stay away from." He drawled. "What you see is something that is… the opposite of us."_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _Kazari reached in his pocket before pulling out the same old journal he kept with him. "I had this before I was sealed. It once mentioned an antithesis to desires. An end to all things."_

 _"What does that even mean?"_

 _"An end to all things that were made from desires," he chuckled. "Take for example the buildings you see. Or the walls. You, humans, desired places to live in, you built walls in need for survival, the desire to live. Imagine what an antithesis of desires can do?" He approached the woman. "Imagine the antithesis to your desire of that power you 'stole'."_

 _Her eyes widen, biting her thumb, "Everything of that would be erased…." She looked up, "And none of you can stop it?"_

 _He simply shrugged while giving a grin. "I've only read what is on the old journal," he replied._

 _"So…. nothing can stop it? Once unleashed, it'll keep going until everything is gone?"_

 _He chuckled as he walked away. "Even if a desire has a beginning, there is always an end to it," he hinted before he vanished from her sights._

' _What… did he mean by that?' She thought. She pondered over it until she realized what he meant._

 _Everything has a beginning to an end. In other words, the Combo within the Rider is dangerous, bringing an end to all that is made from desires._

* * *

The next day, the sun was shining down in the dorm, causing me to wake up. I yawned while stretching my arms out before getting out of my bunk. I looked back, seeing Ankh on his bunk still asleep and snoring while Akira was still fast asleep in his sleeping bag.

I shook my head with a smile before I grabbed my clothes and took a warm shower. When I was done, I was wearing my usual clothes before I quietly left the room and close the door behind me.

"Morning." I turned to see a smiling Blake standing in front of my room.

"Oh, morning Blake." I smiled softly at my girlfriend. "Surprised to see you awake this early in the morning."

"I wanted to take a walk with you."

"Ah," I chuckled. "A walk does sound nice this early in the morning."

A kind smile graced her lips before hugging my arm as we made our way out towards the campus. As we do, we even stopped by the garden to enjoy the scenery before we made our way to the cafeteria. Luckily enough it was too busy for anyone to notice we were walking in hand in hand.

The both of us went to our usual table and took our seats with our trays set down. Since it was early in the morning, we were glad that our friends weren't at the table yet.

"So… um… Did anything happen after you got back to your dorm?" I asked the kunoichi.

"Sides the usual with Yang?" she chuckled softly, "No. They were happy for me."

"I never thought they would be," I rubbed the back of my head.

"Of course we would, Enrique." Ruby's voice rang out, as we see the rest of Team RWBY walking towards us.

"O-Oh…"

"Besides, we have been noticing this since the day at the docks," she added as they all sat down with us.

"And, unlike with Yang. I'm glad you two are taking it slow." Weiss nodded.

"Hey!" Yang responded, offended by that comment. "I take it slow with my dates….. sometimes…"

"You have never been on a date, Yang," Ruby reminded.

"You're not helping," the blonde pouted. I chuckled as I took a bite of my food.

"Plus, it was only a matter of time before you two either got together or found someone else?" Pyrrha said as this time, Team JNPR walked over.

"Well… Blake was the only person I realize I have feelings for," I responded with an embarrassed look.

"Hey, we all had our first loves. Mine was with-"

"Don't finish that sentence, Jaune." Weiss glared softly at him.

"So, we gotta ask, is Blake really the first person you formed a relationship with?" Yang asked, curious.

"She is," I confirmed. "As I told Blake, I'm new to this relationship stuff, so I don't know much about it."

"Well, just remember, that you two, while are a couple now, also have to look out for one another," Ren stated.

"Right…" I replied but I was also nervous. With the Greeed roaming around, Gara, and the five Purple Core Medals that are inside me, I was worried about her safety. I flinched upon feeling someone hold my hand before I see Blake being the one who was holding my hand, a soft smile on her face.

"Don't worry Enrique…. I know you won't." She reassured me.

"Yeah! We know you, Enrique!" Nora agreed, "You have too much willpower to hurt us!"

I looked at my friends before I smiled softly. "Thanks you guys… It means a lot, really," I thanked.

"Good! Now, why don't you two love birds hurry up with the food and ki-" Before Yang could finish, an apple was tossed at her, with Blake glaring at the blonde huntress.

"Please don't start another food fight," I stated. "You guys remember the last time and we had to clean up the entire cafeteria?"

"Only if she can calm down…." Blake stated.

I turned my head to Yang who was whistling, acting all innocent. "Yang, I think you shouldn't say such things either."

"Oh, you know it's true!" She smirked.

I blushed, "N-No, it's not! I-I mean-" I stammered.

Yang laughed, "Relax, I'm only teasing you two. It's just fun to see your reactions."

I looked away, embarrassed as Yang laughed. It's just a simple day at Beacon. Only now, starting today, I have to try and get through what is happening to me along with being with Blake who not only helped me realize my feelings but also the girl I confessed to.

I just hope that Full Combo won't show up again…

* * *

 _In Vale, the figure was sitting on top of the rooftops, kicking his legs once again, hidden from the sights of people._

 _ **"Hehehe…"**_ _he giggled like a child. It was all so new to him but…_

 _The figure looked at his arms, seeing one being red while the other purple. There was something missing…_

 _He was like a newborn chick. A lost, baby bird flying aimlessly wherever his wings take him, around and around the town. He used that Cell Medal on the girl because he just wanted to try._

 _He wondered what happened to that mummy that came out of her back? He shook that thought away before looking at his red arm and reached out to the sky, the red feathers flowing with the wind._

 _ **"Where is... me...?"**_ _The young voice asked itself as the feathers flow against the wind._

* * *

 **Blazing: Taka (x1), Kujaku (x1), Condor (x1)**

 **Scorching: Lion (x1), Tora (x2), Cheetah (x1)**

 **Strongest: Kuwagata (x1), Kamakiri (x1), Batta (x1)**

 **Legendary: Kobura (x1), Kame (x1), Wani (x1)**

 **Water: Shachi (x1), Tako (x1), Unagi (x1)**

 **Gravity: Sai (x1), Gorilla (x1), Zou (x2)**

 **Invincible: Ptera (x2), Tricera (x2), Tyranno (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

 _"You have to hand him over, Ozpin," Ironwood demanded._

"Is that…?" Blake got out, shock upon seeing the Greeed in front of us.

 **"That's me,"** The red Greeed pointed at Ankh.

 **Next Time:** The Choice, Lost Bird, Revelation

* * *

 **A/N:** Well folks that is it for this chapter! Plus, the pairing between the Rider and Blake has finally begun! Hope you all enjoy it and now from what you saw in the preview, the next chapter will debut a certain bird we all know. What will happen next for the Rider and how will be get through the struggle of those Cores within in? Well we will find out next time! Stay in the shadows everyone!


	29. Chapter 28: Choice,Lost Bird, Revelation

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 28th chapter of OOO! I am so excited for the release of Volume 4 of RWBY that is coming out in 12 days! Also, I would like to announce that I will be making a **Kamen Rider Ex-Aid x Hyperdimension Neptunia** story soon. If you wanna know, check out my profile for more details. Along with that, Chapter 8 of **Chalice: The Wild Card Chronicles** (Kamen Rider Blade x High School DxD) will be released very soon. Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc.)

Don't forget to check out my other stories as well.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _Another day went on with Beacon, though today seems to be a really bad one…. Not only due to the fact that Enrique got a new deadly power, but Ozpin, Glynda, and Ironwoods have heard about it. And speaking of the General, he seemed to be demanding something from Ozpin, and it wasn't good._

" _You have to hand him over, Ozpin," Ironwood demanded. He was told about the incident a few days ago, and hearing how the Cores inside the young Rider actually turned him into an invincible, berserk warrior._

" _You know much as I do James that it isn't necessary for this,"_

" _It is necessary for the safety of the people." Ironwoods said, "He needs to be quarantined."_

" _He wouldn't harm anyone as long as he remains close to his friends," Ozpin denied._

" _You do not know that, Ozpin. A young adult he may be but he_ can't _control it. If he was able to, he wouldn't let this happen."_

" _It's not his fault, James." Glynda frowned._

" _He still needed to see this coming. One reason why he'll be accompanying me to Atlas."_

" _You are not taking him away," The two headmasters turn to see Ankh with a frown that showed he was beyond_ pissed _._

" _He is now a danger to this city. In fact, with that kind of power, he could destroy everything. He either comes with me now, or I get the council involved." Ironwoods demanded._

 _They swore they saw his right wing form behind him as a small amount of heat emits from him. "He is no danger unlike the other Greeed. After all… kitty cat is the only one who calms him, stopping that damn Combo that Gara placed in him."_

" _It was just a lucky coincidence. He needs to be examined so those dangerous Cores can be removed." Ironwoods said, "He is nothing but a security risk and needs to be stopped."_

" _You know what I think about you,_ general _?" Ankh asked. "You are nothing but a man who cares about 'safety', not caring about an individual's choice of what they want to do. All you care about is having more power just to protect people but to me, it's nothing but bullshit."_

" _Now see here-"_

" _No, you see here, Ironwood," Ankh growled, his Greeed arm present as he pointed at him. "There will always be a force stronger than your military. No matter what, there will always be something stronger than you might expect. Enrique may be an idiot…" he swallowed a lump in his thrust as he was about to hate himself for saying this, "but he is_ my _pupil and charge."_

" _And what makes you think you have any authority over me?" Ironwood asked, "You're just as dangerous as those Greeed…"_

" _So what? That doesn't mean I can still kick your ass." He scoffed._

" _Threats won't work, 'Ankh', not today." He turns to Ozpin, "I expect a decision later today, otherwise he will be coming with me. You know as well as I do, that this is the best for the safety of the people."_

" _You take him away, I won't hesitate to prevent it," Ankh threatened. "Subtle threats from you doesn't intimidate me."_

" _If you do, you'll be in the same situation as him, monster…." Ironwoods said, walking out of the room._

 _Glynda groaned, "What are we going to do? When he is like this, he will get his way one way or another…"_

" _Smug_ _bastard is ignorant, arrogant to know that my charge won't lost complete control," Ankh scoffed._

" _What do you mean?"_

" _Kitty cat seems to be the soother to those Cores, preventing him from losing further control," the red Greeed said._

" _And as long as she is with him, I'm positive they won't activate.." Ozpin nodded._

" _But James won't allow this," Glynda pointed out._

" _I have something…" they looked at Ankh. "I am gonna hate myself for doing this… I am gonna see how deep Kougami's pockets are to stop this from occurring."_

" _Just please, do your best to help him Ankh." Glynda asked, "Spite what you say or think, we all can agree that him being here is for the best."_

" _Whatever…"_

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 28: The Choice, Lost Bird, Revelations**

The sun rises into the room, beating on my face as I slowly wake up. I blinked as I smiled softly, turning to my side to see a sleeping Blake. Heh, I forgot, we kissed and now a couple. I… I never thought that this would happen with me being in this world.

This was new to me… after we both told our feelings a couple of days ago, we have been spending as much time as possible. And… I couldn't be happier than ever after all that happened to me.

Blake hummed, nuzzling into my chest as she opened her eyes slowly and smiles, "Morning Enrique…" She said, a soft purr being heard.

"Morning Blake." I smiled at her, "Have a nice dream?"

She giggled softly, kissing me gently as she pulled back, "Yeah… And now I know it wasn't just a dream…."

I smiled softly before we sat up from the bed as I yawned slightly. I was the first to get out of the bed before looking at the top bunk, and the surprising thing was that he wasn't there. Usually he is still asleep at this time of day. Looking out the window, I was left in my thoughts about Ankh.

A jerk he may be but if it wasn't for him… I wouldn't have been able to learn so much about fighting, even surviving in this world when I first arrived here. To be honest, I know he wouldn't turn his back on us, it was a feeling that he would continue to help.

He is great mentor too… even if he is a jerk.

I blinked when I saw small white feathers flowing in the wind. Those were the same feathers that Ankh's arm often has.

"Is everything okay, Enrique?" Blake asked, causing me to snap out of my short trance.

"Huh?" I blinked. "Uh, yeah I'm okay."

"Is it about those… Medals…?" She asked worriedly. She was worried about me whenever the others ask how I feel or mentioning those Purple Cores. It was one of those topics I didn't want to talk about ever since that day the Full Combo showed up.

"It's not that…" I assured. "Just thinking is all."

"Are you sure…?"

"I'm sure, Blake." I smiled. "Besides, right now I just have to focus on today, not… _those_ _things_ …"

"Alright then." She said, kissing my cheek, "We better hurry and get ready for class."

"Oh right," I realized before I grabbed my uniform and went to the bathroom while Blake went back to her team dorm to get ready as well.

Once I was done, I walked out wearing the academy uniform, adjusting the tie a bit before exiting my dorm. Outside, Blake stood there waiting, a soft smile on her face as she wraps her arms around mine. Smiling softly we then begin to make our way to our classes, though… I can't shake this feeling that we're being watched….

Ignoring that thought, the both of us made our way to the classroom.

Inside the class, the rest of the team was there. Yang turns and gains a devious grin, "About time the happy couple came in. We were wondering if you two also secretly about to do-"

"Don't even dare say that…" Blake glared, a blush on her face as Yang whistles away.

"Whatever you say," The blonde shrugged, "Say, where's Ankh anyway? Doesn't he come in with Goodwitch to help out with class?"

"I don't know, he wasn't at my dorm when I woke up," I answered.

"You think it is about what happened with the Bird Yummy…?" Ruby asked, shivering slightly upon the memory of what the Yummy did.

"I… I don't know… but I'm sure there is a reason why he is not here right now. Besides you all know how he is."

"Other than being a stuck up jerk? Yeah." Weiss agreed.

"Regardless, we should keep our guards up." Pyrrha said, as the rest of JNPR sits down next to us. "We also have to worry about… _him."_

I turned away slightly as I held my arms, feeling the slight trembling of the memory, remember who she was mentioning. Gara. The man who not only turned himself into a monster but was the one who made those five Purple Cores enter me as its vessel, causing me to lose control in the PuToTyra armor.

The doors then open as none other than Pro- I mean… Doctor Oobleck walked in with his papers and coffee. He sat it down before he chugged it down. A heavy sigh escaping his person before he begins to pour another large cup of it. Seriously, how come he hasn't crashed yet from that much caffeine?

"Alright, class. Today we are going to do a study on the advancements of technology and the cultures of each kingdom." Oobleck stated, drawing a precise map of Remnant on the board in mere seconds.

Just another day for us in his class.

* * *

After a couple of hours, the bell rang as we all got up and the students made our way out. When I got up from my seat, I looked at Oobleck who seems to be examining something. Curious as I was, I approaching the Doctor. "Doctor Oobleck, what are you looking at?" I asked, curious.

"Oh Mr. Alderete. I was examining this fine feather I discovered," he presented… a familiar red feather. "I have never seen such interesting feather have this design. At the dull end, you can see the small curls it has, even more this feather feels warm, never losing its temperature."

I looked closely at the feather, I squinted to get a better look, but oddly enough… It looked… familiar. I don't know where I've seen it before, but… wait a minute…

I reached in my pocket before presenting Oobleck the red feather I found when I was finding Ruby. "I have one as well" I stated.

Before I knew it, the feather was out of my grasp, Oobleck looking at it. How did he even get it that quick?

"Amazing! Simply amazing!" He turned to me, "Where did you find this?"

"I found it by the park, not too far off the shopping district."

"Amazing! It could be a whole new species of bird, or maybe even a new Grimm? I must find out right now!" He said, speeding off to the shopping district. I reached my hand out before I slumped, letting out a sigh. Still, that feather… why does it feel so familiar? Shaking my head, I walked out of the classroom to meet up with the others at the cafeteria.

"Enrique! Over here!" Nora waved, a slab of meat in her hand that she waved.

I sweatdropped before approaching the table and sat down with the two teams. "Where have you been?" Jaune asked.

"Well I stayed in class for a bit since Oobleck recently found a red feather, similar to the one the day we fought the Bird Yummy" I answered.

"Really? Think there could be a new bird around Vale?" Ren questioned. "Do u still have the feather?"

I reached in my pocket and presented it to them. "It must be a big bird for a feather like that." Yang commented.

"Yeah but…feel the temperature." I handed it to the blonde. "After a few weeks, it is still warm."

Yang felt it, surprised. "Wow, he isn't kidding." She looked at Weiss, "Hey Ice Queen, you touch this feather." She handed it to Weiss.

"Why would I want to touch it?" She asked.

"Uh, because you know the cold feeling," The blonde teased.

She glared at the busty blonde before grabbing hold of the feather. When she did, she stared at it surprisingly. "It's… it's warm…" she got out, gently brushing her fingers against the bristle of the feather. She seems to be mesmerized by it.

Only… it was stopped when a familiar hand took it away, that person being Ankh who snatched it out of her hand.

"I suggest you all forget you saw this…" He glared at them tossing it into the trash near by.

"Hey! I wanted to feel it too!" Nora huffed.

"No," Ankh warned. "You are to never mention, see, or speak of that feather."

"Why not? Oobleck has one too you know?" I responded.

"What?! That caffeine addict has one?!" He growled. "Where is he!?"

"Uh… The shopping-" And like that Ankh raced off, and what looked to be a fire trail of anger followed after him.

"Wonder what that was all about?" Blake blinked.

"Maybe since he's a bird, it offends him seeing people treat them like they were objects." Ren pointed out.

"Wait…" I realized. "Red feathers… you guys, remember Ankh's arm is red? Even more being a Bird? You saw how he looked at the feather, it was like he saw a ghost."

"You think whoever made….. The Bird Yummy is trying to get to him?" Ruby asked.

"Don't know…" I muttered.

Ruby looked at us for a moment before she placed her hands on the table. "All in favor of heading to the shopping district to see what Ankh knows? Say Aye!" She announced.

"That's a bad idea Ru-" I started until Yang spoke up.

"Count me in! I wanna know what Ankh is not telling us about that feather," She volunteered.

"It would be nice to see what he's keeping away from us…" Weiss was in agreement.

"AS are we!" Nora shouted, Ren trying to pull her down as Jaune and Pyrrha facepalm at her adding them into this too.

I sighed in defeat, "Fine... I guess I'll tag along too…"

"Then let's get going!" Ruby cheered.

* * *

All nine of us made our way to the shopping district of Vale as we began our search for Ankh. Since I remembered the park, I told my friends about it and so we made our way there, only to see Ankh has he was gathering some feathers that he found, preventing Oobleck from grabbing them.

"These feathers are gonna be thrown away! I am _not_ letting you humans see them!" Ankh said to the doctor.

"But these are a remarkable discovery! They must be studied to figure out where they came from?" Oobleck argued.

"Never!"

We rushed up to Ankh, "Ankh, just what is with you? What is it you know about those feathers?" I asked.

"Like you would care," he argued.

"Ankh, look, just what is your connection between you and those feathers?" I asked once more.

"Just mind your own business!" He shouted at us. "You are never to speak of this or I will wring your ne-" he suddenly stopped as if he sensed something.

"Ankh?" I asked until I suddenly felt something as if… the Purple Cores detect another source of Core Medals… How…?

Ankh looked around frantically, making us confused while I held my head from the feeling.

Suddenly he slowly looked behind him, the rest of us following his line of sight, greeted with something that surprised all of us.

Perched on the tree was a bird-like creature. Its head looked like someone had slipped a falcon's head over its own for a helmet with a green visor in its mouth. On the right side of its head was what seemed to be like orange hair covering the bird's eye like it was stylized. Under the bird's beak was an orange-skinned mouth, probably the only thing about it that seemed remotely human. The creature wore a red vest which covered most of its torso while its legs looked like proper leggings, albeit with bird-like feet coming out at the bottom. However, his right arm and the right half of his head was purple, like it was missing something.

"Is that…?" Blake got out, shock upon seeing the Greeed in front of us.

"A Greeed….." I responded.

"Che, and just when I thought I could get away with this, without you being here….." Ankh growled.

"Wait it is like a bird!" Ruby noticed before we along with Oobleck looked at Ankh. "Ankh that's…"

"My real body, what do you think you idiots?" He growled. "The feathers were from my real body!"

"Then why is your real body…"

"I don't know okay!?" He snapped before we heard the other bird Greeed giggle like a child.

" **I'm… I don't know…"** It said, looking at his purple arm, his voice was that to a child. It looked at us before seeing the arm on Ankh. " **I'm missing…"**

It slowly jumped off the branch, the right wing allow by it to land. It stumbled a bit upon landing before looking at us.

 **"Me,"** The red Greeed pointed at Ankh's Greeed arm. " **I'm missing me."**

"Ankh? What does he mean?" Ruby turned to him.

Ankh growled until the other Bird Greeed slowly raised its arm at Ankh. " **I want... me…"** an energy ripple formed in its arm before Ankh's eyes widen as he suddenly did the same, as if he was challenging the Bird Greeed in front of us.

We watched as the energy was fusing as if Ankh was trying to regain what was his. Suddenly, cell medals were escaping his arm and into the other Bird Greeed to our shock, as I suddenly remember what was going on!

Ankh is being disconnected from his host!

"Ankh!" I shouted before I rushed up to him and shoved him away from the energy rippled.

The other Bird Greeed stumbled as it reeled back. It was like the way it was acting, it was like it is a baby bird, flying aimlessly to wherever the wind takes it to.

" **My... Cores…. You disappear…."** It said, taking a few steps towards us. " **I… I want me back…"**

Ankh held his Greeed arm in pain due to the loss of cell medals while myself and the rest of us looked at the Lost Bird. "Fight it…" I turned back to realize Ankh was the one who said it.

"Just fight it and get my real body back! NOW!" He demanded.

"But-"

" _ **NOW**_ **!"** He barked angrily. We never saw Ankh display this much level of anger at us.

"Right…. Let's go guys!" I shouted to them. The others nodded as Yang and Ruby began to fire upon the other Greeed. Blake and Ren tried to get close, only to be smacked away as Pyrrha, Nora and Weiss shot as well.

Even for something that seemed, well Lost and confused, it knew how to fight. The other Bird Greeed was about to unleash a fire ball, only for Weiss to cast her glyph to freeze it.

" **It's… what is it…?"** It muttered before the ice melting from the heat it was emitting. " **It… went away…?"**

It stared at its arm a little more before blocking Ren's kick. Birds were considered agile in some cases, and seeing this, it is an agile fighter.

"We need a new strategy!" Ruby turned to me, "Enrique, you need to use OOO!"

"What?! I-I can't Ruby!" I refuted as I avoided the lost Bird's attack. "I told you guys… I can't… I don't want to end up in the armor again."

"But you need to fight! If we don't Ankh will…." She turned to the struggling Greeed.

I frantically shake my head, "I can't, I can't!" I shouted, blocking the lost one's attack with the Medajalibur.

"If you w-won't fight… then leave!" Ankh growled at me.

"I'm not gonna leave my friends behind, Ankh!" I argued as Yang delivered a few punches to the lost one, the latter dodging a few.

" **I… I can see where it is…"** It said to Yang, managing to block a punch to its face. " **Don't… be mean… I want… me…"**

"Just shut up!" Yang replied, smacking it with her free fist. It was sent to a tree and impacted it. It shook its head for a moment as it saw us ready to continue to fight.

" **I'm… I don't know… do you know…?"** It asked, confusing us. " **Where is… me? Who am I?"**

"You're nothing but a ghost! A fake!" Ankh shouted to it.

" **I'm…"** It started until he slowly stood up. It wanted to repeat more until it shook its head and unleashed a fireball at us. Weiss quickly raised a glyph to block the attack, forming smoke.

When it died down, the lost bird wasn't here. "It got away," I muttered before we looked back at Ankh.

"Alright Birdman, spill it." Yang frowned. "What happened really? What happened 800 years ago of that body of yours?"

"I…. don't know….." He replied softly.

"You don't know? You have to know something!" Weiss asked.

"All I know is that when the damn Multi-King scanned _all_ the Core Medals from each of us Greeed, he caused himself to be a seal for us. I tried to get back my Cores, only for my arm to get dragged into the tomb."

"Hold up! You mean you, as an arm, were trapped in the tomb while your real body was still around?"

He growled in annoyance, turning away from us before standing up and walking off, presumably towards the other Ankh.

"Hold up! Where do you think you're going?" Yang crossed her arms.

"I'm getting my body back….." He growled. "It holds the rest of my Cores."

"But Ankh, you're injured and you lost cell medals to be able to fight." I pointed out, worried.

"Mr. Alderete is right," Oobleck nodded. "You look to be in no condition of fighting for the moment being."

"That's my body out there! _My_ Core Medals! I have to get back what is rightfully mine!"

"Even if you could lose?" Ruby asked, worried.

Ankh growled, turning his head away.

"Ankh… what happens if one of you do succeed in getting back the real form?" I asked.

"The weaker one is wiped out for good, there existence… will vanish." He answered lowly.

"But if you go after it, you'll… you'll die!" Ruby said, worried as some tears form in her eyes.

"Like it matters to all of you! I am a Greeed! We feel _nothing_!" He showed his Greeed arm. "The only reason of these is because of this stupid body of a human!"

 _ ***POW!***_

The others gasped upon seeing myself punch Ankh in the face. I gritted my teeth as I stare at Ankh. "You don't have nothing Ankh! I know what it is like to have nothing! Just look in front of you for Pete sake!" I yelled. "You have us to be there to help you! Even Sara!"

The Bird Greeed's eyes were filled with rage as he grabbed my neck with his Greeed arm, causing me to gasp for air. He stared at me in anger before what felt like forever he shoved me to the ground as I cough for air with Ankh looking down at me in anger.

"Just shut up…" he replied before leaving towards Beacon.

Blake kneeled down, helping me up as she frowned, "Just…. Give him some time…. Okay?" She said softly to me.

I looked at Blake before I slowly nodded. "Okay…"

* * *

We made it back to Beacon as I rubbed my neck from the grip Ankh performed. It hurt like hell too… "What should we call that other Bird Greeed anyway?" Pyrrha asked.

"He did sound lost… confused to who 'he' is," Weiss noted, crossing her arms.

"Lost Ankh?" Jaune questioned.

We all blinked upon his suggestion.

"That is Ankh's real body…"

"And he sounded lost…"

"Then that declares the name for it," Oobleck concluded. "Now if you all excuse me, I have matters to attend to!" He sped off.

"Ever wonder just how much coffee he drinks?" I asked my friends.

"Too much…" They all said in unison. I chuckled before we all laughed. It's always one of those times to have a good laugh once in awhile, this being one of those times.

"Let's call it a day and relax for now," Ruby decided. "I'm sure by tomorrow we will find out where that lost birdie went."

"Actually, Enrique won't be joining you all." We all turn to see Ironwood's with a few Atlas soldiers and robots as they begin to approach us.

"W-What's going on?" Ruby asked nervously. "We didn't do anything wrong."

"I know." He turned to me, "Enrique, the council has decided that due to your new power, you are a danger to everyone in Remnant. And until those Medals are gone, you'll have to come with me to Atlas."

"What?" I got out. "I-I can't."

"Enrique is not a danger!" Yang growled. "He won't hurt anyone like before!"

He turned to her, "and how do you kids know? He said so himself, that should he use that armor he would lose control. Due to that, it is obvious he doesn't have enough will to take control." He argued, "And it is my mission to protect Vale and Beacon. And should any of you resist…" The soldiers and robots pointed their weapons at us, "You'll not only be expelled from the Festival, but in jail for disrupting a task sent forward by the council. And you will be in jail… And even Schnee's name wouldn't be able to stop it…" he turned to Weiss after that last bit before back to me.

"I won't use the O-Driver! That is the only reason why that armor shows up!" I argued. "If I don't use it then it won't appear again! Why don't you understand that I won't hurt anyone as long as I don't use that belt!"

"I'm sorry, but this is the order of the council." He turned to his soldiers, "Take him…"

My friends suddenly got in front of me, their arms out. "You guys…"

"He is no a monster!" Blake growled.

"Enrique is a good person! I know he won't hurt anyone again!" Ruby continued. "We care about our friends. Sure the tournament is one thing but friends are more important than that!"

"I don't care what you say, he is our friend and I will protect him!" Weiss added on.

"He helped so many of us out, he isn't what you think!" Pyrrha denied.

"He saved me, he saved so many other students from the Greeed, can't you let this pass?" Jaune argued.

"Come near him, and I'll break your legs!" Nora beamed.

"She will… Please heed our advice…." Ren sighed.

Ironwoods looked at them, surprised and somewhat proud of what they stood for… But the order has been issued. "Take them all then…." He sighed sadly.

The two teams and I flinched until the sound of a bullhead was heard, making us look back to see one with the Kougami Foundation Logo. When it landed, the doors opened up to reveal a few RideVendor soldiers who glare at the Atlas soldiers with Felix leading the RideVendors but next to him was Ms. Haven and none other than Kougami himself.

"Oh Ironwood, it has been quite a while," he smiled.

"Kogami. What brings you here?" He asked the elder man.

Kougami smile grew, before handing Ironwood a paper. Ironwood raised an eyebrow before looking at it until we saw him clench the edges a bit. "He will be watched over by one of our trusted RideVendor Soldiers."

"Who…?"

"Yo!" We turned around to see Akira with a smile. "So… who do I watch over again?"

Ironwood did not look happy knowing that Akira is the one who helps us along with being a family friend to Ruby and Yang. "How did you know about this Kougami?" Ironwood asked, holding back anger.

"Oh… a little birdie told me."

He growled, "You know by doing this, the council will be making a much harsher rule for him…." He scoffed, walking off with his men, leaving all of us sighing softly with relief.

We all looked at Kougami, "Don't worry children! It will be handled! After all two members of the council are old friends of mine. I'm sure they will… 'look the other way' if you say." He smiled.

"So this 'little birdie' who is it?"

Kougami pointed at a tree, making us look to see Ankh eating his ice cream. "He told me. I can't let one of my amazing contracts go away."

I smiled before looking at Ankh, "Thanks Kougami." I thanked.

"SUBARASHI!" He then went back into the bullhead with the soldiers following along with Felix and Ms. Haven before departing.

"Man, Kougami must have a lot of connections…" Yang commented before we approached Ankh.

"What is it you brats want?" He asked before eating his treat.

"Just wanted to say…." I started before lowering my head and smiling softly at an idea, "That would you like to go get some ice cream with us?"

He finished off with his treat before tossing it to Nora's head who was completely oblivious to it. The Bird Greeed jumped down from the tree before he stared at me. "Whatever…" he scoffed.

"That's a yes then?" Yang smirked.

"Don't say it," he warned.

* * *

After that little 'fiasco' we all went to the ice cream parlor and when we entered the building, the employee took notice of Ankh. "Ah, Ankh! Good to see you again! I take it the usual?" The employee smiled before noticing the rest of us.

"Actually…." He muttered, "I…. would like to not only treat these kids… But… your...special…" He said softly.

The employee nodded as they began to work.

"It sounds like you come here often, Ankh," Weiss commented.

"Oh! Oh! I think it's because he-" Ankh stopped Ruby, giving her a glare. "Never mind…"

"Here you go." He handed Ankh a large ice cream bowl, on it was several peanuts, crushed up and scattered around it. It had some bananas, strawberries, and red syrup around it too… It kind looked like an ice cream resembling Ankh. "So, what do you kids want?"

"Hmm… Cookie dough ice cream!" Ruby beamed.

"I'll take mint," Weiss answered.

"Give me the banana sundae." Yang smiled.

"Red Velvet." Pyrrha smiled.

"Vanilia." Jaune added.

"Strawberry!" Nora beamed.

"Chocolate." Ren smiled, "You traitor…" Nora huffed at him.

"I'll have blackberry…." Blake said, turning to me.

"Hmm… well I would like to have vanilla along with blackberry as well" I answered.

"Alright, take your seats kids and I'll have to you soon." The owner smiled, getting to work on it.

"Aw, ain't that precious? To have the same flavor as your girlfriend." Yang teased us.

I flustered as I turn away from her. "I sometimes get that flavor back home…" I admitted. "Sometimes I try other flavors of ice creams when I was little."

"You can't fool me." Yang smirked, rubbing my arm with her knuckle playfully, "You just wanted to get the same flavor as Blake, why else would you wait last?" She smirked.

I used my jacket to hide the blush on my face, making Yang laugh. "Oh how fun it is to tease." She said, poking me.

"I-It's not funny," I stuttered.

"Come on…" Blake said, taking my arm as she dragged me away from Yang, glaring at her.

Blake dragged me to the corner part of the ice cream parlor as we sat at our own table while the others took their own tables as well as teams.

"I hate it when Yang does that…" I sighed before my eyes met with my dog tag locket once again. I slowly placed my hand on it before pressing the switch, opening it to reveal the old family photo when I was little… before it all happened. My eyes soften as I stare at the image.

"Hey…" Blake placed her hand on me and smiled, "Everything will be okay…"

I slowly nodded before closing it. "R-Right… sorry… just old memories…"

"Of your family?"

"Yeah.." I admitted. "It will be 6 years since I lost my mom and sister and 9 years after my father died…" I lowered my head. "Even more, my birthday…"

Blake hugged me softly, "I'm sure they would be proud of you…." She said softly before we both heard some 'Aw's' from Yang and Nora. We turned to see them giggling away at us.

It was a little annoying to be quite honest, making Blake glare at the two. They stopped and whistled before the owner started bringing our orders to us. Ankh was first of course, and in the end, me and Blake were last as everyone began to eat it happily.

I grabbed the spoon and grabbed a spoonful of the ice cream, savoring the taste as I smiled upon the familiar feeling of old memories of how my family would take me and Marie to an ice cream parlor.

"E-Enrique?" Blake called to me softly.

I got out of my trance before looking st Blake. "What's wrong?"

A light blush on her face forms as she holds up a spoon of her ice cream, looking at me, as she raises it to me. I blinked in confusion until I realized what she was trying to do. She is trying to feed me some ice cream.

"S-Say… 'ahh'..." She said softly, not wanting the others to hear or see this.

"A-Ahh.." I responded, opening my mouth much to my embarrassment. I chew the ice cream slightly as it melts before swallowing it.

She still had a blush on her face, as if she wanted to try that out for awhile before turning back, luckily enough no one took notice of it as she sighed softly. "S-Sorry… I… kinda wanted to.. Always try that out…." She admitted.

"O-Oh…" I noted as I went back to eating my treat. "Its okay." I assured nervously.

She smiles softly, eating her ice cream again as she sits a bit closer. And in the end, after our treats, we head out, Blake though hand in hand with mine.

* * *

 _The now dubbed Lost Ankh was on a rooftop staring down at the citizens below. It was kicking its legs again upon seeing the people below._

 _Despite his… loss of getting back… 'himself, he was_ learning _. It looked at its arm once more, recalling how the one with 'him' somehow used a human form. He remembered how people scream when they see 'monsters'._

 _Even more so the reactions from his other half and those kids he was with. Their looks of confusion and terror made the child Greeed confused._

 _Maybe like the other one, he could try and look human to what those people are called._

 _He stared down at the humans seeing each one looking different than the other. Some didn't look right for him._

" _Mommy! Can we go see Beacon later?" Lost Ankh looked to the right as a young boy with red hair was being carried by two of it's parents happily. It tilted its head upon watching the child._

 _It kinda reminds him of himself… a child minded being. It watched more until it made its choice. Coins shaped it's body before assuming the form is saw, only difference was that the left eye was red and the other purple and the clothes were white and gold, with a single long sleeve that was purple._

 _It blinked as it looked over it's new body, being that of a child. Once ready it jumped off as it landed in the alley near by. It began to walk out, and surprising the confused Greeed, no one was running, screaming or afraid. Everyone looked normal for once._

 _It blinked before having to walk off, seeing what else this body it has can do for now?_

* * *

"That's was really fun! We need to do this again." Ruby smiled.

"Yeah, I'm game for that too." Yang added.

I smiled in agreement, as I place my hands in my pocket. "Say, about the Vytal Festival," they looked at me. "What else is there to it? I mean, it is gonna be my first time for something like this."

"It's basically a battle royal between the kingdoms. Teams fight for honor of their school, as well as even some recognition from either companies, other hunters/huntresses, or even deals, like with Pyrrha and her fame" Weiss explained. "Does your world have festivals?"

"Depends on the county of course," I responded. "For my country, we do hold festivals, some involving an important day, honoring the military for their valor and courage, others involving the history of certain cities. Like my hometown, it has a long history due to the fact that one city was considered the first settlement of the east."

"So…. your festivals don't have tournaments?" Ruby blinked.

"That sounds dumb…" Nora groaned with boredom.

"Nora…." Ren sighed at her.

"Well they do hold tournaments but for another thing."

"What?"

"Video games." I answered with a chuckle.

Ruby gasped as she speed up to me, "You have games there too?! PLEASE tell me you have some with you!" She beamed, jumping up and down.

"All assortments of games. Some for kids, teenagers, and adults." I answered much to her glee. "The game tournaments involve major video game franchises with the best players playing on teams. The prize being money and team recognition."

"That's awesome!" Ruby shouted with glee.

"Wow, even we don't have something like that. Even I'm curious on what games you have?" Yang smiled.

"VIDEO GAME NIGHT!" Nora shouted.

I chuckled, "Well the games I play are with friends or sometimes multiplayer online. Some fighting games."

Ruby grabbed my shoulders, "I… must… play them…. ALL…." She said, her face showing her leader side and competitive side as well.

"If you consider some games rather… violent in terms of some certain franchises." I tried to calm her down.

"Enrique, you forget where you're at." Yang smirked, "We can handle violent games. We face monsters and cut them into bits..."

"True," I noted. "Sadly, Ruby I didn't have any games with me when I ended up here."

Both her, Nora and Yang frowned sadly, the trio of fighter girls, 'Awwing' at the same time.

"But I can tell you which games I have played and the lore," I pointed out.

"Better than nothing." Yang smiled.

"STORY TIME!" Nora shouted once more, Ren having to pull her back so she didn't jump too high.

"Let's see…" I pondered before I began to tell them a game I played back at my home world called Warframe, explaining to the three about how players play as a race of 'ninjas' called Tenno and how they have to do tasks and such to obtain better gear or Frames to progress each level aka, planet.

Blake seemed the most interested due to Ninja's and who she is. I even told them about Overwatch where they play as heroes or villains against other players, competing to win. Ruby seemed to like that one the most, due to the many different weapons.

"So which one you play often?"

"Meh, depends on the day. Most of the time it's often Warframe." I shrugged. "But overall, we do have tournaments just to those in the gamer expertise. Believe me, there are very major players back home and they play well."

"Sounds like you do something like that," Yang smirked.

"No, my friend Zack does."

"Who is Zack?"

I smiled softly, "He was my _only_ friend back home." I reached in my pocket before showing them a photo of myself and my best friend. To them they see a young man my age with messy brown hair, brown eyes and slightly pale skin. He was wearing a white dress shirt that was rolled up to his elbows while wearing a black vest and short black tie. He was wearing dark pants and shoes, giving a peace sign alongside me.

"Oh, he's a cutie." Yang chuckled.

"He may be my only friend back home but he is also a bit of a ladies man." I chuckled on the old memories. "If you wanna ask how much? Compare him to Neptune."

"Pfft eas-"

"Times 100….."

"Oh…." they all said in unison, surprised.

"Yep, that's how much he flirts. He knows his way around to make any type of girl blush." I confirmed. "Sometimes he fails but the other times he wins them over."

"What else?" Jaune asked.

"He may be a ladies man but he often helps me out. He was a good friend too," I smiled. "Besides, you guys are my friends too and I'm glad to have met all of you the day I came to Beacon."

"Don't get mushy on, Enrique." Weiss turned slightly.

I chuckled, "Hey, I'm being honest."

"Weiss just doesn't want to drop her… What was it again? 'Tsundere' attitude?" Yang grinned.

"She _is_ one," Ankh huffed, still eating his treat as we walk.

"Hey!" Weiss frowned, offended.

"Hehe, told ya," Yang pointed at Weiss.

"You're not helping!" Weiss said to the blonde.

We all laughed as we made our way to the shopping district.

* * *

 _Lost Ankh was looking around, seeing the view from the ground. Who knew that everything looked tall from here? Even though he was taking form of a child, it was so interesting to him._

 _Although, he was receiving glances from the humans that he walks by. He heard some say about 'where were his parents?', 'Why is he alone?' , and etc._

 _He was confused to why would the humans ask themselves those questions? He was only taking the form of a child?_

 _Near by, an Atlas patrol notices him as they walk over, "Hey kid!" One of them called out. The small patrol approaches him._

 _He blinked as he was now in front of these… soldiers to what people call them. He tilted his head to the side, confused to why they stop them?_

 _One of them, looking like the leader kneeled down to him, "Are you okay, son? Where's your family?" He asked, showing concern._

" _Fam.. ily?" He blinked in confusion. "What... do you mean by… that?"_

 _The leader sighed, turning towards the others, "Another orphan… I swear people can be heartless to their kids…" He turned back to him, "Come on, we know a place you can stay and be loved." He offered, with his hand out._

 _Lost Ankh stared at the man, confused once more. Orphan? Heartless? Kids? What is all that? And what is this.. Loved?_

 _He looked at his arm that has the purple sleeve then at the soldiers. He simply walked past them, wanting to continue to explore the place and maybe see if there are other high places to stay at and see the city view like he always does._

" _Hey kid, hold up!" The leader grabbed him, "You can't go running off on your own. And if you don't' have parents, we need to put you in a safer place."_

" _Safe…?" He repeated. "I… I am… safe. Don't be… mean. I want... me."_

" _I'm sorry kid, but we can't let you go off on your own." The leader denied._

" _I am missing… me…" he continued. "I'm… I don't know… Do you know where is me?"_

" _You think this kid is suffering some trauma?" The soldier whispered._

" _I think so let's just get him-" When they looked where he was, he wasn't there! Only a small red feather that is emitting warmth._

" _W-What in the…?" The leader got out. "Where did he go?"_

* * *

We all began exploring the shopping district. Ruby and Nora went to the weapons shop and knowing them, they would get some items needed for their weapons with Yang going with her little sister.

Weiss, Pyrrha and Jaune following suite, went towards that of the clothes portion, while Ren, made his way towards what looked like to be a sauna. Leaving me, Blake and Ankh only. Ankh wanted no part of being with us as he walked away from us, most likely to get his ice cream again.

"Guess… it's only me and you…" Blake smiled.

"I guess so," I chuckled. "Ankh seriously has to stop acting like a jerk."

"It's just who he is…" Blake smiled, taking my hand, "Come on. I know a place where we can relax ourselves…"

"Really?" She nodded before she tugs my arm and I began to follow her. She lead me to what seemed to be a green house, but inside a dome as we made our way inside, even some birds and small animals littered the inside of the dome as we found a little spot under what seemed to be a cherry blossom tree.

"I come to this place once and awhile, it's very peaceful…." She smiled at me.

"Wow…" I got out in awe. "No places at home have a place like this." I sat down on the bench.

She sat next to me, leaning against my shoulder as she held my hand. That same purr being heard as she sighs happily next to me.

I smiled, enjoying the peace with her until I felt my eyes flash purple for a moment. It was like it did before. I quickly sat up upon the feeling of sensing the nearby presence of Core Medals.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"I… I think something is nearby." I answered before rushing out of the building. When I exit the building, I looked around, trying to find out where it was until I noticed someone in the crowd who seems to be staring at me.

"Enrique," I heard Blake's voice as she now stood by me. "What is wrong?"

My response was that I pointed at the person who was staring at me.

It was a young boy with red hair, his eyes being red on the left and purple on the right. He was wearing a white shirt with gold and red trimmings with the right sleeve being purple. He was also wearing dark pants to go with it.

"Do you know him?" Blake asked.

"I don't know," I answered until my eyes flashed purple again upon the detection. My eyes widen upon seeing how the source was coming from… "the kid…"

"What?"

"He has Core Medals… Ankh's Core Medals..." I clenched the Taka Core I carried with me in my pocket.

He tilted his head at me as his eyes shined, forming into his Greeed form as the people notice and begin panicking. Backing away from him as others began to run in fear.

" **Give it to me….."** He said, walking towards me, extending his hand out as if he wants it back. " **I'm… missing me… I… I want me…"**

"H-How did he gain human form?!"

I was wondering myself until I realized a thing about birds. "Blake, he has the motif of three intelligent birds. In other words…"

" **I… I need me back…"**

"Lost Ankh is actually learning what to do and at a quick rate." I finished.

"You need to get out of here, Enrique." Blake said, drawing out her weapon as she stood in front of me.

"I'll be fine Blake," I refuted, unsheathing Medajalibur. "I know I said I won't use the O-Driver after that day but I am gonna fight no matter what." She wanted to argue at first until she saw how serious I was to fighting without the armor.

"Just…. Be careful…." She said with worry.

I nodded before the both of us charged at Lost Ankh. When Blake brought down her blade, the child Greeed blocked her attack but since she was using a cell medal to power her sword, she caused Lost Ankh to lose medals.

It used its wing to move away before looking at us. " **Don't be… mean… I want me…"** He said before blocking my attack and punched me away. Its arm began to conjure fire making it 'blink' before aiming at us as it unleashed a flamethrower like attack.

We dodged in time as the torrents of flames hit the side of the wall, melting it like it was plastic as it began to walk to me once more. He seemed angry, and a lot more powerful than Ankh. If that attack hit me…. I don't know if my Aura could handle it….

I looked around until I noticed a fire hydrant, making me look at the Bird Greeed as it slowly reached its hand out. " **I… I want me."**

"Have this," I quickly struck the side of the fire hydrant, causing pressurized water to hit the Lost bird, sending it flying upon the pressure of the water burst. The water starting to become steam due to its fire ability.

"Blake use Ice Dust, hurry!" I shouted.

She nodded, forming her sword into it's gun mode as she shot two large blasts of Ice Dust at it. Upon contact it froze and made a large glacier from the water torrents. Inside was that of Lost Ankh, but it began to glow as cracks formed around it. It broke out of it like it was nothing. I swore it could be just as powerful as the others, if not more.

' _I was the most powerful of all the Greeed,"_

I recalled what Ankh told us about being more powerful than the others, even without the nine cores. He wasn't joking at all…

This wasn't good.

It aimed its arm at us but when it did, only a puff of steam poured out, making it tilt its head. It tried again but it was the same result. We saw droplets of water on its body, even with the melted ice, his feathers must have absorbed the water.

" **I… I just want me…"** He said again, trying its best to use its power but with his feathers soaked, he couldn't.

"Stay where you are!" Lost Ankh turned its head to see Atlas soldiers, their guns aimed at him.

He turned to them, then back at us. It struck the ground, creating a smoke screen, before it dissipated, showing a hole where it once was…. It got away.

"He must have used that smoke to its advantage…" I got out. "Lost Ankh is learning fast…" I informed Blake, getting up. "If he learns how to fight more and fully understands what he can do with his Cell Medals … we are gonna be in trouble…"

"What should we do?" Blake asked.

"We have to tell the others so they can be aware that Lost Ankh is learning quickly…" I answered. "Ankh said he was powerful in his real body… makes you wonder when Lost Ankh realizes it."

* * *

 _Lost Ankh was in an alleyway, looking at his arm. It… It couldn't get back a part of him… but he learned how to do that flamethrower attack. His feathers and armor was soaked so he went into his human form, his clothes still a bit damp from the water earlier._

 _He lowered his arm as he looked at the sky. He saw birds flying in the sky. Just like him… freedom, their wings wide as they fly with the wind._

 _He slowly stood up before peeking from the corner, seeing anyone around. Seeing it clear, he walked out of the alley to see his surroundings again. From afar, many Atlas soldiers were searching around for him, and this caused a crowd as they gathered around to see what happened?_

 _He knew he did the fighting but at least they didn't know his disguise. He decided to leave the premises to avoid suspicion from those… soldiers. "Where is… me?" He asked himself, looking at his hand. He remembers the arm that the other person had but he is barely seen. Where did he go to?_

" _Are you lost, little one?" Lost Ankh blinked before raising its head to see a young woman with hair white as the snow that is styled into a bun, wearing clothing that matches her hair and eyes. Her aura showed that of authority like those 'soldiers' he was confronted by._

 _He tilted his head, confused. "Lost?" He repeated. She kneeled down and handed him some candy, a soft smile on her face._

" _Yes. You don't look like an orphan, your clothes are too clean. Did you lose your family?" she asked him._

" _Fam… ily?" He blinked. Why would this person think he has this… 'family'?_

" _You don't know what a family is?" She blinked, a bit surprised._

 _He shook his head before walking past her. Why do people confront him? Sure he scared people earlier with his other form but he was only searching for himself. He looked around more, "Where is… me?" He muttered._

 _She patted his head gently, "If you're in trouble, I'll be happy to help you out." She said caringly._

 _The young Bird turned around, seeing the woman patting his head, was this some form of harm? "Don't… be mean…" he muttered._

" _Heh, I'm not being mean. I'm being nice and helping you." She said. "This is just a 'pat', a form of touching softly without harming."_

 _He tilted his head. Touch? He doesn't feel it. Even the candy in his hand, there was no description to how it felt. "I'm… I don't know… do you know where is me? I am missing me."_

" _Would you like me to help you then?" She asked him._

 _He looked at his purple sleeve before looking at her. "Where is me?" He asked again._

 _Winter noticed a red feather falling out of his sleeve and flown away. Strange. He didn't look like a Faunus, he looked completely normal. "Why don't we go find 'him' then?" She offered._

 _Finding himself? Would it be good to have help? Maybe this woman must have a nest for him to stay. Sure high places were areas he stays at, evidence being nests made by him in certain areas. It looked at Winter before he asked, "Do you… have a nest?"_

" _Heh, I believe I do. Come, I can show you." She smiled, holding her hand out to him. It was rather odd for him to call home a nest. Lost Ankh slowly reached his hand out before grabbing hold of her hand._

 _What Winter didn't know was that she was bringing home the other Bird Greeed, Lost Ankh._

* * *

 **Blazing: Taka (x1), Kujaku (x1), Condor (x1)**

 **Scorching: Lion (x1), Tora (x2), Cheetah (x1)**

 **Strongest: Kuwagata (x1), Kamakiri (x1), Batta (x1)**

 **Legendary: Kobura (x1), Kame (x1), Wani (x1)**

 **Water: Shachi (x1), Tako (x1), Unagi (x1)**

 **Gravity: Sai (x1), Gorilla (x1), Zou (x2)**

 **Invincible: Ptera (x2), Tricera (x2), Tyranno (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

" _The second phase is finally beginning…" Gara grinned._

"The Purple Cores are initiating... a process called Greeedification…" I announced, confusing them until I decided to say its meaning. "The Cores are slowly turning me… into a Greeed…"

"I am gonna fight!" I declared, the Tora Claws unfolding and ready to fight.

 **Next Time:** Second Phase, Greedification, Steel Resolve

* * *

 **A/N:** Well that is it for this chapter folks! I hope you all enjoy Lost Ankh's debut. I know that in the show, Kazari takes Lost Ankh in and teaches him but from what I recall some birds learn on their own. Hence force why Lost Ankh will be learning and with Winter taking him in, he will learn far more quicker with the older Schnee unaware of who he really is. Look forward to the next chapter everyone!

Also, the next chapter will bring forth the start of a certain process. What will happen next? You all have to find out. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	30. Chapter 29: Second Phase, Greedification

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 29th chapter of OOO! I hope you all enjoyed the previous chapter with the debut of Lost Ankh and the two battles against him. And now time to continue on with the story. What will happen to our Rider? Will he continue to fight as OOO again or continue to fight as a normal Huntsman-in-training? Well we are about to find out in this chapter so sit back and enjoy the chapter!

Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc.).

Don't forget to check out my other stories as well.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _Gara was going over his latest studies about the progress of the five Purple Cores that are now inside the young Rider. So far, nothing has set them off. Not a single tick, itch, or even anger to set off the cores. He wasn't using them. And that needed to change now. He was his vessel, and he needed him turned into his Greeed puppet now, otherwise his plans would take too long for it to work, and he_ needed _his plans to happen right now. He looked at the hourglass he carries, noticing the grain of sand finally gone on top._

 _Seeing this made him write down notes in his journal. The day has finally started. "The second phase is finally beginning…" Gara grinned. All he has to do know is to make sure those Purple Cores show up again so the process can grow._

 _Wanting to make sure the process is truly starting, he used his materials and use of alchemy into a small case. He grabbed a cell medal from his fingers before dropping it into the case. It glowed before producing a small lizard that crawled out. It shared the similar draconic traits as Gara's kaijin form. It was dark gold with a small crown-helm on its head._

 _He grinned, the use of alchemy never fails him, even to this very day. It was the reason why he was allowed to live for so many years, gaining more and more knowledge. "Spectate the vessel." He ordered._

 _It squawked at him, nodding as it rushed off towards where the vessel was at._

" _Soon… soon you will be my puppet, vessel and your existence will be gone for good." He laughed. Oh how much fun he was gonna have with his experimentation._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 29: Second Phase, Greedification, Steel Resolve**

"Enrique? Enrique!" Ruby shouted to me, snapping me out of my trance.

I raised my head from the desk, seeing the Ruby and her team. "Huh? Ruby… oh sorry, guess I fell asleep…" I yawned. "Did I miss anything from the so-called Lecture that Professor Port said?"

"Uh…. 'Missed anything'? Class has been over for 15 minutes!" She pointed out, showing we were the only ones left in class.

"Oh…"

"Are… you alright? You zoned out after it started." Blake asked me.

"Yeah, I'm alright," I smiled. "I guess I'm just tired is all. Ankh and Akira were arguing over Cell medals last night again."

"Who won that time?" Yang asked.

"Neither… again," I sighed.

"You've been in and out of your trance for the past week. It's almost time for the Festival! You need yo get your act together." Weiss stated.

I got up from my seat as the five of us left the classroom, "Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Anyone else notice he's been getting more and more depressed lately?" Jaune pointed out forgetting to whisper.

"You know I'm right here?" I deadpanned. "Look guys, I'm alright. Really. It's nothing to worry about, okay?"

"Are you sure…?" Ruby asked.

"I'm sure, Ruby," I responded.

"Well, let's head to the cafeteria! I'm sure the food will help you ease your mind!" Nora beamed at me.

I chuckled, "Sure why not." I accepted before we all made our way to the cafeteria. We all got our respective meals with myself getting sushi with a side of rice. Sitting down on the tables, we set our trays down as I sat down next to Blake who was eating a tuna sandwich.

Seeing my friends happy, I couldn't help have a smile of my own. I care about my friends a lot, even more falling in love with Blake. "Let's eat!" Ruby beamed, devouring her tray of cookies.

The others began to eat their meals as well before I decided to do the same as well, using my chopsticks to grab a piece of sushi. I took a bite of the sushi but the moment I did I froze. The feeling of horror finally overcame me when took a bite of my food.

I couldn't taste it… there was no taste as if it had no flavor… nothing…

"Enrique? What's wrong?" Blake asked.

"Oh, it's nothing," I lied quickly as I took another bite. Still nothing.

Panic settled in before I grabbed another tray of food and began to eat more but again, there was no taste.

"Something wrong, Enrique? You seem to be eating a lot." Yang asked.

"I-I'm fine!" I lied again before I began to eat more food. But every time I eat, I couldn't taste anything… there was absolutely no taste whatsoever… Nothing…

I felt dread coming over before I quickly sit up from the table and ran out of the cafeteria, my friends calling out to me but I ignored them and ran my way to my dorm like no tomorrow.

 _ **That's it… get stressed out… You'll be mine soon, boy…**_

It felt like Gara's voice rang in my head as I tried my best to ignore it.

* * *

I washed cold water over my face, repeating the process over and over before I stopped, taking deep breaths as I stare at the mirror.

I was afraid. What if I lost touch of my emotions as well? I can't lose my feelings… Blake is the girl I love. I don't want to lose that emotion!

 _ **Don't fight it…. It'll be over soon…. You'll lose your humanity, your emotions, that Faunus girl and be my anti-desire weapon against this worthless world….**_

"STOP IT!" I shouted, smashing my fist against the glass as it broke. I panted heavily as I slumped to the floor.

The Purple Cores were the antithesis of desire...and desire was an emotion. Loving someone was a desire as well and that could vanish.

I slowly looked at my arm and saw the brief glimpse of a claw much to my horror. Holding my arm, I stumbled to the door, my back hitting it as the feeling of dread took over as I watch my arm briefly change before it went back to normal.

I was now panicking. This was one of the symptoms of the Purple Cores staying within my body. Loss of taste…

This was the symptom of the transformation…

Greeedification.

"Enrique, is everything alright in there?" I heard Ruby's voice behind the door. Blake must have gotten worried that she called the others…

How am I gonna explain to them that I am becoming one of the very enemies we fight…? I just can't hide it… I am basically hiding the truth to what the Purple Cores are doing to me. It was eating me up… They have to know… they have to…

Swallowing, I slowly stood up and opened the door to see my friends as they saw how pale I was from the fear I was experiencing. I raised my head to look at my friends before lowering my head once more. "You guys need to sit… I… I have to tell you all something…."

"Tell us what?"

"Please… this is… important…" I stated.

They looked at each other before they sat while I sat on the edge of my bed. I received stares, the group wanting to know what was wrong with me. It was about time they know what the Purple Cores are doing.

"You have been acting strange for the past day, Enrique. First you were all freaked out when you ate lunch. Heck, you ate so much food as if you were starving." Yang asked. "Just what is going on?"

I gulped, my heart racing before I took deep breaths to try and calm myself down. "D-Do you guys remember the Purple Cores inside me?"

"Yeah? And …?"

"They are not only making me go berserk in the armor…" I admitted as I held my arms, trembling in fear. "They are… they are…"

"They are what? Spit it out," Weiss demanded.

"The Purple Cores are initiating... a process called Greeedification…" I announced, confusing them until I decided to say its meaning. "The Cores are slowly turning me… into a Greeed…"

"Y-You mean… you are becoming a Greeed…?"

"Why do you think the Greeed are so filled with desire? Because their existence is incomplete? Their senses are dulled. No taste, no sense of touch, their eyesight have no color, no smell… no emotions…" I looked at my hands. "I already lost my sense of taste… and I saw a glimpse of my arm changing… eventually… I… I will lose every sense I have before becoming one… a monster like them..."

"NO!" Our attention turned to Blake, her eyes welled up in tears. "It's not true… Please tell me it's not true?"

I lowered my head, "I'm telling the truth…" I admitted. "The Purple Cores are turning me into one… that's why I couldn't sleep much… Not only I'm afraid of the Purple Cores forcing me into that Full Combo, but it is also turning me into a Greeed…"

"Isn't there anyway to stop it? Can't we just.. Take them out?" Ruby asked.

"Didn't you guys remember? It is close to my heart…" I reminded. "Even Ankh says that if they try… I will die… This is what Gara wants… to make sure no one removes the Cores within me... "

"That's not fair!" Yang growled, smacking the wall, cracking it, "That bastard is going to pay for this…" She looked at me, "You're our friend Enrique…. You… you don't deserve this…"

"What else am I supposed to do?" I questioned. "Simply wait and let Gara turn me into a monster or die if anyone tries to remove them out of me?"

"No, you fight him! Beat him and force him to remove those Cores!" Yang argued.

"I told you, I don't want to use the O-Driver… I can't risk myself ending up in the Combo…" I glanced at the O-Driver at the desk. "It will only speed up the process…"

"Then what else can you do? Just whimper and let him torture you?" Yang questioned.

"I am not using the O-Driver, okay!?" I shouted until I saw my arm change briefly, making my widen eyes in fear before it went to normal. I held my arm in fear as I sat on the bed. "Please… just go…" I pleaded. They looked at me worried as Pyrrha wanted to speak up but I turned my head away from them, causing each one to leave one-by one, leaving me in my dorm.

* * *

 _As the sun was setting, Team RWBY and Team JNPR were in the Team RWBY dorm as they were all worried about their friend. "What do we do? We have to do something…"_

" _Yeah but what?" Weiss questioned. "If we tell Ozpin, then Ironwood will find out and take Enrique away."_

" _You all just have to wait," They turned their heads to see Ankh's arm crossed, leaning against the door. "Guess you all found out huh?"_

" _Wait… you knew…?"_

" _Since last night," He huffed. "I never thought that Gara could truly make it work. A human becoming a Greeed."_

" _Has he ever tried that before?" Pyrrha asked._

" _No… this is the first time for this to happen," He responded, looking at his Greeed arm. "That bastard must have planned this for a_ long _time… But since he discovered my charge, he is now making the plans progress quickly."_

" _Any idea how we can help? I don't like seeing him like this…" Ruby asked, pouting._

" _Beats the hell out of me," He admitted. "But if it continues any further…" He glared at the group. "I would have no choice but to get rid of him."_

" _What!?"_

" _You heard me, another Greeed like the one that is forming shouldn't exist." He warned. "If those Cores only reside in those with no desires and with Enrique being the only one in this world and the one he is from, it would stop Gara from progressing any further."_

" _You can't do that! He's our friend, Ankh!" Jaune got out, gripping his collar, "You've helped me and him so much! Why turn your back on him like that? After everything he has done for you…."_

 _Ankh grabbed Jaune, "That Greeed that he is becoming is an obstacle to getting back my body." He shoved him away. "If that continues any further, then I_ will _kill him."_

" _You try anything and you'll the one who'll die…" Blake said, her weapon near his neck as well as her ears folded back in anger. "WE can save Enrique. I know we can."_

" _Che, you can try. You all know it won't happen." He scoffed. "I'll give you all one week, the week before the festival. If it doesn't work, I will put him down." He grabbed the blade with his Greeed arm before moving away and left the dorm._

" _What…. What are we going to do?" Ruby asked the others, as everyone was silent._

" _He… He only gave us one week… how are we gonna accomplish that and stop those Cores in Enrique?" Weiss questioned._

 _They all were silent once more, trying to think of something until Blake left the room._

* * *

I was sitting on the desk, depressed to what was happening to me while I stare at the O-Driver. I just couldn't go back into that armor… I don't want to speed up the process of becoming a Greeed. Setting it down, I leaned back on the chair as I look at the ceiling. After all that has happened… it was gonna end up like this… a monster...

I swear, I could still hear and see Gara, laughing at me, as if it seemed he won this battle…. That I would fall and become his puppet… I… I don't want that. I don't want to be a monster.

"Oi! Enrique!" I soon felt a pat against my cheeks as I blinked and looked up to see Akira standing there. "Geez kid…. Something must've bad happened to ya in school to make you like this."

"It's…"

"Is it trouble with Blake?"

"No, not that…" I responded before placing my hand over the spot the Cores are. "The Core Medals that are within me… they are turning me into a Greeed…"

"Oh…. wow. That is something." He said, sitting the jug of medals down as he sat next to me. "You're scared to become a Greeed, huh?"

"What do you think…?" I responded. "What am I supposed to do… I don't want to become a monster and be a puppet to Gara…"

"Well… I don't know much but I do know one thing, there is always a way to beat the odds. You can find a way to beat this situation." He stated, patting my shoulder. "Besides, those Cores are opposites right?" I nodded. "All you have to do, is find your desire."

"What? My… desire?" I repeated.

"Yeah. If you figure out what your desire is, those Cores will no longer bother you." He smiled before getting up and grabbed the tank full of medals. "Don't ever think you're alone or they won't accept ya, kid. They're your friends and family. They always will have your back." He opened the door, "Oh hello, Blake."

I quickly looked back to see Blake at the door as Akira moved aside to allow Blake to enter before he left and closed the door, leaving only me and Blake. Seeing her, I turned away, afraid to what she will say after what is happened to me. "I thought you are with the others…"

She didn't respond as she walked over to me, kneeling down before hugging me, "Don't run off like that….." She said softly.

"I-I'm sorry…" I apologized. "I… I just can't be near you guys… I'm afraid of hurting you if I do become a Greeed… I don't want to be a monster..."

"I know you Enrique… You never can hurt me or the others… You're too kind hearted…." Her body began trembling. "I can't lose you… I don't want to lose you…"

I wrapped my arms around her, "I know… I… I don't want to lose everything… I don't want to lose my emotions… falling in love with you is something I don't want to forget… I don't want to lose the feeling either…"

"You never will…. Our bond is too strong for anything to break it…" She said, gently running her hand through my hair, "Sides… after everything that we went through… You really think this would stop us?"

"I… I don't know…" I responded quietly. "I… I also heard what Ankh told you guys… he wants to kill me doesn't he…?"

"He'll try… But he won't succeed… I won't let him." She said, holding me tighter.

"But… it is the only way to stop myself from hurting you guys…" I muttered.

"No… Enrique, I know there will be a way." She denied. "I know there will be a way to make those Cores vanish. Ankh won't kill you and Gara won't make you his puppet…" She said, hugging my tighter, "I swear on my life…."

I looked at her, "... Promise…?"

Her response was her kissing me softly before pulling away, "I promise."

Looking at Blake, I felt safe but also afraid… I didn't want to hurt her but I didn't want to get her more worried than she already is. I blushed as I looked away, "You… can stay… at my dorm for the night… if you want…" I offered nervously.

"I would like that…." She smiled, kissing my cheek.

Upon so, Blake went back to her dorm to get her sleepwear but I swore i heard yelps in her team's dorm, the source being Yang. When Blake came back, she had a flustered look. "Did Yang say something to you?" I assumed.

"I-It's nothing…" She responded.

"Then those yelps… was it what you do to Yang?"

"Let's… just get some sleep…." She said, crawling into my bed with me.

"Alright…" I responded softly. Blake moved herself closer to me as I noticed she still had her bow on. "Hey Blake…"

"Yes?"

"Do you still sleep with that bow on?" I pointed at the said accessory on her head that is covering her ears.

"Do…. you want me to.. Take it off?" She blushed softly.

"I am not upset Blake. I still see you as who you are, Faunus or human, you are still the girl I fell in love with," I responded. "Personally, the whole racism stuff is nothing but stupid people who don't realize the good things a Faunus can do. After all, you and others want to help people, isn't that what counts?"

She smiled softly, nuzzling me before she took off her bow, a soft smile and blush on her face as she stays close to me. "True… thank you for reminding me…."

I smiled softly before I felt the onset of sleep, my eyes becoming heavy as the both of us fall asleep in each other's embrace.

* * *

 _Gara's familiar flicked its tongue before crawling away, leaving the school grounds before making it back to the domain that Gara stays at. It crawled onto his master's shoulder, giving him the updates about the progress. Gara frowned in not just of anger but in disgust. A human loving a faunus was disgusting to him._

" _What about his Greeedification? Any noticeable changes yet?" He asked._

 _It informed him of the one symptom that made him grin, "So the vessel couldn't taste his meals… it seems he is truly experiencing it." He looked at the lizard, petting it as the familiar enjoyed it. "Now…" the mad alchemist got out one cell medal and looked at a candle he was using. "Let's send another to make him go berserk again, shall we my little familiar?"_

 _It took the Cell Medal, tossing it into the air as it flew into the candle, and what formed out of it was a new Yummy. It looked to be feminine, with features of a Stegosaurus. It had several armor plating along with spikes on the back. In its hand was a spear that had the spikes to a stegosaurus._

" _Wreak havoc when the sun reaches high in the sky. Destroy any objects that were made from desires." He ordered. "Oh… and why not erase that Faunus too?"_

 _The Yummy bowed before walking off into the night, ready to destroy any desires it sees in its path once the sun is at high noon._

 _Gara laughed before looking at his familiar, "My dear pet, continue to watch my project and let me know if anything progresses for me."_

 _It nodded before crawling away while the alchemist looked over a board that displayed blueprints to what looks to be a buckle. "Once he is turned, my project will be initiated." He chuckled before he laughed. "And soon, the kingdoms will fall under one rule and under my feet! I will rise as the true God!"_

* * *

The sun rose as I was greeted with the sight of Blake sleeping next to me once more. A warm feeling overwhelming me as I just laid there with her. I felt at peace to get up right now and just wanted to relax in my bed along with her.

I slowly raised my arm, staring at my hand as the fear was welling up… I never thought this would happen to me. The same thing that Eiji went through was happening to me…

Just what is my desire…?

What is it that I desire most…?

All these thoughts were so confusing and frustrating to me… I have to know what it is before it happens...

"Mmngh…. Morning Enrique…" I heard Blake's voice, getting me out of my thoughts as she smiled, opening her eyes.

"Morning…" I responded with a small smile.

She smiled, cupping my cheek as she leaned in and kissed me gently. It was refreshing as I did the same before she parted and stretched. "We should get around…" She said to me.

I nodded as I was the first to get out of bed and headed to the sink to splash water to my face. When I raised my head to the shattered mirror, I swore I saw a glimpse of a certain Greeed with its skull-like head, causing me to tremble as I clenched my hands on the edges of the sink.

"Enrique?" Blake called out to me.

"I-I'm fine…" I lied.

"Enrique… I know when you're lying to me…." Blake said, walking over before hugging me, "You don't need to be scared to tell me anything… Not anymore…"

I gently placing my hand over hers, feeling the warmth and the softness of her hand. It was one of those feeling I didn't want to lose… "I'm sorry…" I apologized. "It's just that… I'm scared… scared of my existence being wiped out… scared of becoming a Greeed and a puppet…"

"I know you are… But we've been through so much. I know you, Enrique. You won't give up or give into this thing that easily… I know you can beat it." She reassured me.

I lowered my head. "That is what I'm worried about… I don't know if I can win this time…" I admitted.

I felt her arms tighten around me, knowing that this might be a fight I will lose…

Before we can continue, there was rapid knocking on the door making Blake pull away while I checked to see who it was. When I twisted the knob, the door was slammed open, hitting me and fall back.

I groaned before sitting up to see Ruby with a panicked look. "What's wrong, Ruby?" I asked, holding my nose from the pain.

"A-A Yummy! Another… weird… reptile like one!" She panted, "Yang and the others are in trouble!"

My eyes widen as I felt the familiar sense of cell medals. Ruby wasn't lying. "Alright," I nodded before I grabbed the Medajalibur and the sheath, placing to the magnetic clip on my jacket before looking at the O-Driver. I shook my head before putting it back.

I have to stick with the Medajalibur and not the O-Driver...

* * *

"AAAUUUGGGHHH!" Yang yelled in pain. The blonde huntress tossed into the wall as it cracked from the impact. She had cuts, bruises and puncture wounds on her person as she looked up at the Yummy.

The Yummy stood there was Pyrrha and Nora were below its feet. Near by Ren, Jaune and Weiss were on the ground, everyone had small injuries on their bodies as it scoffed, " **You Hunters and Huntresses are pathetic…. Your desires are nothing but paper mache to me…."**

Yang focused on her semblance more, using the damage she obtained before getting up and charged towards it, her hair being a burning color and her eyes red. The Yummy turned to her as it let out a ripple of purple energy, and upon hitting Yang her hair quickly stopped glowing as she dropped to the ground.

" **You all rely on your Semblances to turn the tide… And that is one form of desire…. And one I can easily… Pierce through."** It said, using the tip of the spear as it rammed it through her shoulder.

"Leave them alone, Yummy!" The Stego Yummy turned around to see me, Ruby, Blake, and Akira who was in his Birth armor, his weapon aimed at the Yummy.

" **Hmph. As you wish…"** It said, pulling the spear out of Yang's shoulder, **"Then you all will do nicely!"** It charged ahead, aiming it's weapon at…. Ruby!?

I got in front of Ruby as I brought up the Medajalibur to block it, only to buckle from the amount of force it has. It exerted more pressure, pushing me back. It then turned to use the blunt end of its spear to strike Blake then Ruby before twirling it and striking Akira as it pushed him back.

"Man… this Yummy is strong like the last one…" He gritted, pointing his gun as he pulled the trigger as he fired upon it, only to see his attacks barely doing any damage.

It marched towards Akira and swung its spear at him, the latter ducking from the attack, only for it to deliver a knee to his chest as sparks castes off his armor before I intervene with my sword and delivered a diagonal slash across its back.

Sparks flew off, along with a few medals before it turned to me, gripping my neck and lifting me up, **"You're in my way…."** It said, as I began to grow cold as ice started to form around my neck, slowly encasing me in ice. I tried to make it release me but it had a strong grip as I gasp for more air.

I slowly clenched onto the Medajalibur before I struck its side, causing it to release me as I cough for air. My skin was cold due to its ability as I rub my neck, shivering from the cold feeling.

The Yummy was angered upon this as it got back up before a certain red shortsword got between the two of us. " **What?"**

I stare at the sword before I saw Ankh by the rooftop. "Ankh…?"

He showed me the O-Driver before tossing it, the buckle landing in front of me as I see the King Combo in the slots. "I-I can't…"

"Look around you!" He pointed to my friends who were injured and the damage the Yummy did. "Is this the result you want? Or do you want that Yummy gone?"

"I…"

"For damn sake, you have to pull it together and fight!" He ordered. "You want to save your friends from it?! Then tell me what you are gonna do!?"

I winced as he continues his shout, "You know as much as I do that Gara is the reason for your Greeedification! The Yummies he made! Either you survive and fight or die like you should have the day you arrived in this city!"

" **Silence you puppet! Do not give him any ideas. He is meant to be used by Master Gara, and he WILL become a Greeed!"** The Yummy growled, **"And I'll start by ending these mortals lives…. Starting with the little one and the Faunus…."**

"Shut it…" I muttered, the Yummy turning to me.

" **What did you just say?"**

I slowly got up and raised my head to look at the Yummy. My eyes filled with no doubt as I place the Buckle onto my waist, the belt forming as I grabbed the O-Scanned. "Just shut it! I will not let you continue any further!" I quickly swiped the scanner across the Medals. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

The crests spun around me before aligning and flew back to me, forming the OOO armor. "I am gonna fight!" I declared, the Tora Claws unfolding and ready to fight.

" **You'll fail! You keep using that armor, you'll become a Greeed faster than before!"** It growled, rushing ahead as it began to clash its spear against my sword.

"All I care about is helping my friends!"

" **They won't care about you… When you turn, they'll kill you just as you've killed the the two Greeed…."**

Our weapons clashed again and again as I try to fight back until it punched me in the chest, sending me flying through a wall.

" **You can't win against me with that pathetic armor…. Use the power you were given… Give into it…."**

I gritted in pain as I get up. I couldn't accept it… I didn't want to go out of control again. The Yummy threw it spear at me, going at a lightning fast rate.

Suddenly, my body felt that same surge of power again as everything around me became a blur.

* * *

 _A purple field appeared around OOO, with three of the five Purple Cores blocking the attack before it made the King Combo fly off the Buckle and landed in front of Blake._ _The Purple Cores then placed themselves into the O-Driver with the scanned levitating and swiped the Cores across the Buckle._

 _ **PTERA!**_

 _ **TRICERA!**_

 _ **TYRANNO!**_

 _ **PU-TO-TYRA NO ZAURU~!**_

 _Ice formed around the area before it shattered, revealing OOO in the berserk combo once again, roaring at the Yummy._

" _ **Yes….. He used it!"**_ _The Yummy laughed victoriously._

 _It rushed towards the Yummy as he used his gauntlets to slash the Yummy with medals spilling out. Before it can block the next attack, OOO grabbed the weapon and tossed it aside and grabbed its leg and began to slam it to the ground left and right, each hit forming a dent in the ground._

" _Enrique…." Blake got out, picking up the King Medals._

 _When it made a crater in the ground, the Rider twisted its leg before he continued and pulled its leg right off, the limb becoming cell medals while the Yummy began to crawl away._

 _OOO growled before he plunged his arm into the concrete and pulled out the axe once again. He swung the axe down to the Yummy's arm, pinning it to the ground with OOO roaring._

 _The Yummy tried to get rid of the axe, only for OOO to grab hold of his weapon, the Yummy looking at the Rider._

 _A snarl emitted from his helmet before he stomped onto its arm. Then again and again to the point that the axe finally cut through its shoulder, severing the arm as it also became cell medals._

" _Enrique! Stop this now!" Blake called out to him, worried._

 _Her words couldn't get to him upon the sound of his roaring as he grabbed the Yummy's neck before the tricera spikes extended, piercing the Yummy's shoulders and began to punch it over and over as more and more cell medals were spilling from its body._

 _Ruby watched in horror, Akira quickly covering her eyes as they continue to see the Rider beating the life out of the Yummy, and as soon as it couldn't move anymore, he then gripped the ax, swingin it downward as an explosion of Cell Medals rained from where it was. The Berserk Rider roaring in triumph._

 _He slowly looked back to see the others, the rider snarling in fury._

 _Blake quickly got up as she rushed over to him, hugging him tightly, "Enrique please stop this!" She pleaded. "Please…"_

 _The Rider tried to get her to release him but Blake only tighten the embrace as OOO roared before his sounds died down, his armor flashing before it finally vanished and the Rider becoming unconscious with the Cores going back inside his body._

 _The others slowly got up, Akira and Ankh walking over to the unconscious Hunter as Blake held him close._

" _He's still a danger…." Ankh said, walking over to his sword. He got it out of the ground before looking at the group. "I rather not let it continue. He needs to be put down."_

" _No! I won't let you!" Blake stood up, her blade drawn out as she stands in front of the unconscious rider._

" _I'm still giving you all one week. One week before the festival." He warned._

" _I won't let you harm Enrique… You try anything, I will end you right now…" She threatened him._

 _He scoffed as he sheathed the blade. "Keep telling yourself that, kitty cat. You know it will happen sooner or later," he walked his way back to Beacon._

 _Akira placed his hand on Blake, the Faunus lowering her head as he picks him up, "Come on. You kids need treatment." He said, leading them to the nurse's office._

 _They all nodded, some cringing from the pain before following Akira to the infirmary at Beacon._

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes before closing them then opening them once more, greeted with the white ceiling once again. "Not again…" I muttered in pain and trepidation.

"You okay Enrique?" I turned my head to see the others in hospital beds, some more severe than the others with the bandages on their person.

"I… it happened again…" I responded. "I couldn't stop that Combo from appearing… I…"

"It's not your fault." Akira said, leaning against the wall, "You were forced to. It wasn't your fault."

"But it was my fault for giving in!" I argued. "And there is only one week until the festival… one week before Ankh makes the decision…"

Blake stood up, walking towards me before she placed her hand on my shoulder, "Enrique… This isn't your fault. It's power it just too great. Don't you ever dare blame yourself cause of this." She said to me. "I don't care what Ankh says, I won't let him end you. Even if means fighting him!" I looked at Blake, surprised she would do that.

"Blake is right," Ruby said. "Ankh may have gave us a week but we won't give up on finding a way to make those evil Cores vanish! Right guys?"

"Sides, this is the least you can do, after everything you've done for us." Yang added on.

"No matter what, we're here for you Enrique." Pyrrha smiled.

"We're your family." Jaune added.

"And should Ankh try anything, I'll break his legs…." Nora grinned deviously.

"Just remember, who's with you." Ren nodded.

I looked at my friends, speechless upon their words. They were willing to find a way no matter how much time it took, they wouldn't stop at the ends of the kingdoms to find a way to help. Some tears slowly escaped my eyes before I smiled, "You guys… thank you…"

Blake smiled softly, hugging me gently as Ruby joins in as well. Akira smiled as he leaves us be for now, knowing that my friends…. My family is there for me.

* * *

 _Gara was sitting on his seat, going over his latest notes of the progress of the Greedification from his vessel. So far everything is going perfectly as planned!_

 _He used the combo once again and now he was getting close to the next symptom. However what angers him was that those brats and that Huntsman were giving him a reason to know what his desire is. If he realizes his desire, everything would be ruined!_

 _He has put so many years to make this project work and he was not gonna let some teenagers ruin it!_

 _He slammed his hand against a vial, growling before looking at the ancient box across the table. "Looks like I have to initiate it a little early than I expected." He decided, a maniacal grin growing on his face. "Tomorrow will be the day that he will become my puppet. Hehehe… HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

* * *

 **Blazing: Taka (x1), Kujaku (x1), Condor (x1)**

 **Scorching: Lion (x1), Tora (x2), Cheetah (x1)**

 **Strongest: Kuwagata (x1), Kamakiri (x1), Batta (x1)**

 **Legendary: Kobura (x1), Kame (x1), Wani (x1)**

 **Water: Shachi (x1), Tako (x1), Unagi (x1)**

 **Gravity: Sai (x1), Gorilla (x1), Zou (x2)**

 **Invincible: Ptera (x2), Tricera (x2), Tyranno (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"We are not gonna let it happen this time!" Ruby declared.

 _"Behold! The Dino Greeed!" Gara announced to the group, his arms spread out like wings as the Dino Greeed was slowly standing up, before it roared, making the two teams, Birth, and the Bird Greeed cover their ears from how loud it was._

"Is this…" I place my hand on the glow, feeling the new sensation of power. Could it be...?

 **Next Time:** Gara's Strike, Dino Greeed, Semblance

* * *

 **A/N:** I do apologize for the somewhat short chapter folks, but I hope you all enjoy the chapter with another debut of the PuToTyra combo! Our rider has returned to fight once again despite the Invincible Combo returning. And now, now Gara is about to make his move. What will happen next? You all have to find out in the next chapter and see. Look forward to my upcoming stories **The Path of a Blood (** God Eater 2: Rage Burst **),** **Game Start: Rider Operations (** Kamen Rider Ex-Aid x Hyperdimension Neptunia **),** and **An Abnormal Time Tripping Ride (** Kamen Rider [Den-O] x Medaka Box **)**. If you guys want to be beta readers for my two upcoming Kamen Rider stories, let me know via PM.

Also I will be accepting one or two more OCs for my upcoming Ex-Aid story to be Kamen Rider Brave and Kamen Rider Lazer. PM me for further details. Also for my stories that involve Kamen Rider or certain JRPG games, my OC will be the same. Take for example striberx and Fenikkusumaru, their OCs are always the same and so I am doing the same.


	31. Chapter 30: Dino Greeed, Semblance

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 30th chapter of OOO and this is the last part of 'The Return' arc! And this is the chapter before the Volume 3 Arc, plus the first episode of Volume 4 is two days away! I hope you all enjoy this and look forward to more. Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc.).

Don't forget to check out my other stories as well.

 **Henshin!**

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _Gara checked the ancient box, counting its contents to make sure he still had the remaining five Purple Dinosaur Core Medals. Seeing them all accounted for, he had to prepare for the final step if he was to accomplish his plans to become the God he so much desired. While his weapons was still incomplete, he at least had his vessel. He would need to focus on his chosen vessel. He needed to to complete his plans. Soon, the world would fall into his clutches and he would succeed, unlike the Greeed that were still roaming around. He glanced at his familiar that was perched on his shoulder, "My dear pet, keep watch over my vessel and keep me updated on where he is," he ordered. "It is time that I start the process a little early."_

 _The draconic lizard obeyed before it crawled through the door and made its way to Beacon to keep watch over Gara's vessel._

 _"It is almost time for the world to bow before me!" he declared. ._

 _He began to gather all of his materials so he can continue his second project._

 _"Today is the day you will be my puppet, young vessel…" He grinned. He knew what this day was and thought that it would be the perfect day to ruin not only those brats, but for the vessel to be erased and give rise to a new Greeed._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 30: Gara's Strike, Dino Greeed, Semblance**

A day passed since the second Dino Yummy attack. What was worse was that I was forced into that Combo again, even telling my friends that I was going through Greeedification. Right now, I was looking at my dog tag locket, staring at the photo of my family before they died. I looked at the calendar and saw what day it was today…. Today was the anniversary of their deaths. 9 years since my dad died and 6 years since my mom and my little sister's death…

I never told my friends or girlfriend about today… I just wanted to do something since every year I would stop by their graves to visit but now… now I couldn't…

I was brought out of my thoughts when I heard a knock on the door. "Come in," I allowed whoever was there. The door opened, revealing Blake. "Oh hey, Blake…"

"Are you alright, Enrique?" Blake asked, placing her hand on mine. "We haven't seen you in class lately. We asked the professors and they said it's something personal. Is it about the Cores?"

"No, not that…" I sighed before walking over to my desk. I kept one of the drawers locked because it was where I kept something that was valuable to me. I unlocked the drawer and opened it, pulling out a bag which I had before I ended up on Remnant. I opened the bag and pulled out an old stuffed bunny along with an old newspaper. "It's today. Today is..."

"Huh?"

I walked back to her and handed her the old newspaper. She got hold of it and saw the headline.

 _ **A HORRIFIC CAR CRASH IN MIDST OF STORM, LEAVING ONLY ONE SURVIVOR.**_

Her eyes softened as she looks to me, leaning on me, "I'm… sorry.. I didn't know…" she apologized. "So this is why you haven't come to class today…?"

I nodded, "It's been 9 years since my dad died in combat and 6 years since that day my mom and little sister died…" I looked at the old toy as a soft squeak was heard from it. "This… this was the only thing I have as a reminder of my little sister… Sometimes I wonder why I lived…"

"I'm sorry…. Is there anything I can do to help you?" She asked.

"I just want to be alone for a little bit" I answered. "I don't want the others to see me like this." I fiddled with the small toy as old memories came back. I remembered the day I got this toy for Marie.

* * *

 _10 Years ago…_

 _I approached my little sister quietly before I tapped her shoulder, "Boo."_

 _"Eep!" She jumped away before she saw me laughing. "That was mean!" She puffed her cheeks._

 _"Come on, Marie, that was funny," I laughed before I calmed myself down. "Besides…" I presented her a small box that had a bow on top. "Happy 5th birthday!"_

 _Marie beamed before she got hold of it and began to unwrap it. When she did, I watched her pull out a stuffed rabbit as a soft squeak was heard from it._

 _"I love it! Thank you!" She hugged it before hugging me tightly. "You're the best, big bro!"_

 _I smiled as I patted her head. "It is what I do," I said._

* * *

A small tear escaped my eyes upon the old memory as I stared at the stuffed animal. I never forgot how happy she was when I gave it to her… Even mom and dad were happy that I got her such a wonderful gift. .

Blake frowned, not saying a thing as she pulled me into a hug. Her warmth felt nice against me as I slowly hugged her back. And.. I couldn't hold back anymore as tears ran down my face, as I muffled my cries in her shoulder.

"Shhh….. It's okay… I'm here, so let it all out…" She said, slowly petting my head.

"I miss them… I miss my family…" I cried. "It feels like it is my fault that the only family I had left died in front of me… Why… why does my life keeps going downhill? "

He tried to be strong all these years, but it just got harder and harder. He never got the chance to watch his sister grow up. That chance was taken from her and he always blamed himself.

"I wish I could tell you…" Blake said, unsure of what to say.

"Now… now I am becoming a Greeed…" I continued. "What am I supposed to do…. What can I do…?"

"Believe in yourself and us, Enrique… That's all you need…" she said softly, trying her best to calm me down.

I slowly raised my head to look at her.

She had a soft, warm smile on her face, before placing her forehead against mine, "I know you're scared…. And you have every right to be. But, as long as me, Ruby and the others are here, you'll never be alone again…. I promise you that," she assured me.

I slowly placed my hand on hers while I used the sleeve on my other arm to wipe away my tears. I looked at Blake once more before I looked at the old toy.

"I just need to do something for today…" I said to her. "Since it is what I always do… for them."

"We could go for a walk around Beacon" she offered. "Or… do you want to go the botanical gardens?"

I stared at the toy for a moment before I slowly nodded, "The garden would be the right place…" I responded. "Since it reminds me of home."

Blake helped me stand as the both of us walked to the door, only to be greeted by my friends.

"Hey, you guys…" I greeted.

"Hey, Enrique," Ruby smiled, reaching into her pocket to bring out some cookies, "I thought this could help cheer you up?"

"Sorry, it's just that…" I let out a sigh. "The reason why I didn't attend class was because of today... is the anniversary of my family's death…"

"We understand, Enrique. We're letting you and Blake have time to yourselves." Pyrrha said, "Even Yang will stop her antics just for today."

"I appreciate it, really." I thanked them.

* * *

Blake and I made it to the garden. We both found a bench to sit on. I gazed at the plants that reminded me of home. The sweet scent that came from the flowers. It was nice to see that, while Remnant was so different from Earth, there were so many similarities to remind me of home. I looked at my hand and for a brief moment I saw what it looked like as a Greeed arm. It reminded me that I was going through the Greeedification process. As long as the Purple Dinosaur Core Medals remained within me, there was no stopping the process. I had already lost my sense of taste… I was afraid of losing more of my senses. For a moment, I found myself sympathizing with the Greeed. Could their lives truly be called living as they perceived the world with such dulled senses? No wonder they were so desperate to be whole. Their desire to be whole became an obsession and they would do anything just to feel complete again. If I ever did lose my humanity, I would end up becoming just like them.

Blake soon took my hand, leading me towards the Cherry Blossom trees. I marveled at their beauty as the petals fell. We sat down under them with their aroma filling the air as petals fell down calmly. Blake leaned against me as we rested there.

Seeing the petals, I reached my hand out as a petal soon landed on my hand. My eyes slowly closed due to the serene, peaceful atmosphere that surrounded us . It felt like a part of me wanted to sleep… it had been awhile since I last had a good rest… ever since the Purple Core Medals were implanted in my body, I actually never had a good sleep.

The nightmares kept me awake. The nightmares of my complete Greeedification… and what would come next.

"Tired, Enrique?" Blake asked.

I nodded tiredly. "I guess…" I yawned. "A part of me just wants to sleep…"

She smiles, "Then sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

I looked at her, seeing her warm smile as my eyes slowly began to close. I was trying to not fall asleep, but with how peaceful it was around me… I wanted to sleep. My eyes finally closed as I drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 _Blake smiled as she watched the young Rider sleep. Seeing him at peace with his dreams made her feel at ease as she hugged him closer to her, letting her feelings reach his dreams so he could sleep peacefully._

 _"Rest easily, my hero… I'm here for you…" she said softly to him. She gently set his head on her her lap, giving her a view of his sleeping face. She gently brushed a few strands of his hair away to see him._

 _Deep down, she was worried about him. The Greeedification was changing him… It already made him lose his sense of taste and now, she was afraid of losing him completely._

 _He was afraid of losing his senses, along with his human emotions, and finally his soul. Then he would be fully transformed into a Greeed once he lost his soul._

 _After the happiness she felt in a long time, it was about to be taken away from her._

' _I swear…. I swear on my life that I won't let him fall into Gara's clutches… I will protect him.' Blake swore in her thoughts, determined to make sure he remained human._

 _A soft murmur was heard, making her look to see the young Rider's eyes flinch a bit before he continued his peaceful sleep. She smiled softly before kissing his forehead as she sat there, watching the area as she lets him sleep._

* * *

After what felt like hours, I slowly opened my eyes. At first, my vision was blurry. For a moment, I was freaked out. Had my vision gone along with my sense of sight? That only lasted for a moment as my vision cleared up and I saw Blake's kind smile. I noticed that it felt like I was resting on something soft. That was then I realized that my head was resting on Blake's lap.

"Had a nice nap?" she giggled.

I blushed lightly upon realizing what I was resting on before I got out of my stupor. "Yeah… how long was I asleep…?"

"Almost three hours."

"That long huh?" I muttered tiredly as I placed my hand over my mouth to hide the yawn. "I guess I needed it… after all that has been going on and all…"

"Guess so," she conceded, handing me the bag of cookies that Ruby had given me, "Here, she made them very well."

I sat up and stretched before grabbing hold of the small bag. Opening it, I picked one and took a bite of the cookie. A sad frown formed, my taste buds were unable to taste anything… it was all… empty. No taste… I couldn't even tell how good it was. "If only I was able to taste how good they really are…" I muttered sadly.

"See? Isn't it good?" Blake smiled.

"But… there's no taste… I still can't taste anything, Blake…" I responded.

"Oh…" she realized, remembering that I was still going through the Greeedification. She clenched her hands before I heard her say, "It's not fair…"

"What?" I saw the small glimpse of tears forming in her eyes.

"This isn't fair for you!" She shouted standing up, "Why… why must this bastard torture you? Why can't he just leave you alone!?"

I flinched as she continued, "He has been hurting you with those Purple Core Medals! I was scared when I saw what happened! He was forcing you to use that Combo… he… he's turning you into a Greeed… something with nothing in them… I-I don't want to lose you… after all, that has happened to me. You made me happy for the first time in my life… but Gara's taking that all away…"

I slowly wrapped my arms around her as I try to calm her. "I know… I'm scared too, Blake. I am…".

She cried onto my chest knowing that they couldn't find a way to stop the Greeedification… even if I find out what I desired, by then it would probably be too late…

"Let's go see Ruby and the others. Okay?" I suggested.

"Why?"

"That way I won't forget who my best friends are. Meeting you guys, I don't want to forget those memories," I answered before kissing her forehead.

She blinked before nodding to me, "That.. sounds nice…"

* * *

The both of us headed to the shopping district of Vale. The last message we got from Ruby was that they all wanted to look around. We contacted them to meet up by the cafe as Akira dragged Ankh along. We were all sitting at the outside table.

Blake had sent a few glares Ankh's way, knowing that the two teams had two days to try and save me before he made the decision.

"Still any luck in finding a way?" Ankh questioned mockingly to some of my friends.

"Beat it, KFC meal. We rather not see you right now." Yang crossed her arms.

Ankh's eye twitched, feeling the urge to hit her.

"Easy now," Akira intervened. "No need to fight at the table. Let's just enjoy ourselves. And Yang, be nice."

"Only if he does…." she huffed.

"A-Anyways! How were the cookies, Enrique?" Ruby asked with a smile.

I lowered my head while Akira nudged her. "That is a touchy subject Ruby."

"O-Oh… I'm sorry…" She lowered her head. "I-I forgot about it…"

"It's okay…" I sighed.

"No, It's not," she mumbled.

"I still think he should be put down before that Greeed is born." Ankh scoffed before he felt someone stomp on his foot. "Alright, which one of you idiots did that!?"

"Bring it, chicken boy!" Nora cracked her knuckles.

"You guys please don't fight!" I intervened. "I just want to spent my time being with my friends instead of you arguing with each other."

"Ankh, if you're going to keep acting like a jerk, just leave." Ruby frowned at him. "I rather not see you here if you keep treating Enrique like a monster…"

Ankh huffed as he turned away, not looking at us until we saw him flinch, "He's here…"

What came out of a ripple made of Cell Medals was none other than Gara, an evil grin on his face, **"My dear vessel…. The promised day has come… For you to become my new Greeed, and the instrument to my desire!"** he cackled.

I trembled until I saw my friends brandishing their weapons.

"We are not gonna let it happen this time!" Ruby declared. "You hurt our friend! We won't let you continue hurting him any further!"

 **"As if you can do anything…"** He chuckled. **"But if you wish try to stop me… Then come at me…"** he taunted them all.

They glared at him before they rushed towards the mad alchemist. The first person to attack him was Akira as he placed in the Birth Driver on his waist. Once it wrapped around his waist, he presented a Cell Medal. "Henshin!"

Placing the Cell Medal into the Birth Driver, he twisted the knob and was eventually adorned in the Birth Armor. Placing in another Medal, he twisted the knob once more.

 _ **DRILL ARM!**_

Now equipped with drill arm, he rushed towards Gara to pierce his chest. The mad alchemist dodged the drill and tried to deliver a strike at the Huntsman, only for him to block the attack with his forearm before he went in for another punch and managed to deliver the first contact. Gara stumbled back until Birth charged in once more but seeing this, the mad alchemist grin for the moment Birth swung his Drill arm at him, Gara gripped his arm, squeezing it. Sparks began to bleed off of the arm before he tossed him aside with ease.

 **"Next?"** Gara taunted.

Team JNPR and RWBY were next to go after him. I watched as my friends fight the madman…

Clenching my hands, I grabbed the Medajalibur and rushed in to help my friends. Ruby and Jaune used their weapons to try and strike Gara but he dodged them easily before he was about to strike Jaune but his arm was stopped, causing him to dart his head towards Pyrrha.

That's right, Gara's body was now filled with Cell Medals instead of flesh, making him a walking piece of metal.

"Now you guys!" she shouted.

We all charged ahead, brandishing our weapons as Gara growled, **"You dare use your power on me, girl? That wasn't smart…."** he said coldly as an odd aura began to pour out of his body, forming him into his kaijin form as a ripple of energy shot out in a radius. He quickly extended his arm to Pyrrha, but due to her sharp reflexes, she manages to avoid his attack in time with the help of her Semblance.

 **"I'll make you suffer for that, girl…"** Gara growled, his jaw lowering down as energy built up quickly before he shot out a ball of energy at her. She wasn't able to dodge it in time as she was struck and tossed aside, canceling her Semblance as Gara whipped around to grab Yang and Nora by their necks.

The two tried to forcibly pry his hands off until Nora slowly aimed at Gara with her grenade launcher and fired a round into him. The smoke cleared, showing only a few scars on him before he kicked Yang away and started to squeeze Nora, **"I'm tired of you…."**

"Let her go!" Blake shouted, her blades drawn as she charges ahead, aiming for his neck. He quickly blocked the attack and tried to strike her, only for her to use her Semblance to encase his arm in rock. I rushed in and brought my blade down onto his arm, severing it and freeing Nora while Ren pulled her away.

 **"You insolent vessel,"** Gara growled, stumbling back. We watched as Cell Medals spilled from his wound. Then we saw a lizard crawling onto his shoulder. A grin formed on Gara's teeth as the lizard glowed before going inside the wound. Before we knew it, his arm reformed again.

"Wh-Wha…"

 **"The wonders of alchemy you insolent heathens. My familiar was not only a scout but also a part of me,"** he boasted, flexing his newly regenerated claw before he swung his arm, hitting us as we all fell to the ground, our weapons out of our grips. We all groaned in pain while we struggled to get back up to stop the madman.

I couldn't bare the pain that my body was enduring as Gara forced my friends away from me. The Royal Alchemist laughed as he went into his human form while presenting the other 4 Purple Cores. "Now…" he got them closer to me. "Time for you to become the perfect Greeed that the likes of this planet have never seen in the past 800 years."

I saw him digging the Cores into my chest, the feeling of horror and dread now running through me as I now began to feel more pain than ever. Gara began to laugh as his plan was finally coming together. I felt the Core Medals reacting within my body, causing me to feel the pain from the energy they was emitting.

Sparks were forming around me before I finally gave in to the pain.

"AAAAAAAAGGGGGH!" I screamed, my body now covered in a malevolent purple aura.

My vision went black.

* * *

 _The group watched in horror as Gara placed the Core Medals into Enrique, creating a purple aura around him. They watched as the purple aura began to envelop parts of his body, forming something they had never seen before. Once the glow died down, they were treated with the sight of a horrifying creature standing in Enrique's place. Its chest was that of a triceratops head, horns extruding out on the center while the crest acted as a collar with two more crests on its shoulders. Its arms were reptilian but also armored. Its claws were sharp enough to cut through anything._

 _The legs were a steel gray color that was muscle-like but also had frills on the side of its thighs. On its knees was armor plating, protecting its knees that could smash into anything if it tried to use its knees for physical violence._

 _The most menacing feature was its head. It was like a helmet, shaped like a T-Rex head with a singular red visor eye. It was also bone-like at the same time while its lower jaw acted like a mouthguard for the creature standing in front of them._

 _They had just witnessed Enrique become a new type of Greeed before their very eyes._

* * *

"Behold! The Dino Greeed!" Gara announced to the group, his arms spread out like wings as the Dino Greeed slowly stood up. The Dino Greed roared loudly, making the two teams, Birth, and the Bird Greeed cover their ears.

The road was so loud that it caused the windows to shatter as ice began to form around the Dino Greeed.

They looked at the Greeed once more and were horrified by what has happened. Their best friend had become a Greeed all from the nine Core Medals that Gara implanted into him. The mad alchemist was holding the last Purple Core.

"Y-You monster...!" Blake shouted at the alchemist.

Gara laughed maniacally. "Oh, how fun it is! If it wasn't for you all trying to seek what he desires, I wouldn't have shown up! Then again, he would have still become a Greeed either way." He grinned. "This is the start to where I will become a God! HAHAHAHA!"

"Bring him back… Bring Enrique back you sorry excuse of a scientist!" Blake shouted.

"Oh~, why should I?" He mocked. "I have planned for this for 800 years and now my plans will finally make me the new ruler of the four kingdoms! They will all bow to me!"

Ankh was shocked as well, seeing his student/charge become a Greeed. He never thought this would truly happen but with Gara here, they were in trouble. He knew how Gara behaved and if the tenth Core was broken, they would lose Enrique forever as his soul and mind were consumed by the Dino Core Medals and the Dino Greeed.

"Ruby, get that case. We can't let Gara destroy the tenth Core," Ankh whispered. "If he does then Enrique's existence will be wiped out."

"But… what can we do? Enrique… is already gone…." she whispered back.

"He's not gone…yet."

"What?"

"I can still sense his Aura within that monster but it is slowly fading," he explained. "As long as we keep that tenth Core Medal away from Gara, we might still have a shot at saving him. Remember what I told you, idiots? Breaking the tenth Core gave the birth to us Greeed. In other words, if he manages to break it-"

"Then the 'Dino' Greeed hasn't fully formed and Enrique could still be in that thing!" Weiss realized. "Ruby, you know what to do."

Ruby looked at her friends then at Blake before she regained the determination. "Right! Mr. Akira, remember the game you played with me and Yang? Hot potato?"

"Yeah but I recall that Yang had the idea of using a literal hot potato," Birth recalled.

"Well, let's start the game!" Yang said, gripping her sister as she tossed her with all of her strength. Ruby whizzed past Gara, snatching the case that held last Core from him.

Gara blinked before looking at his hands and saw the case was no longer in his grasp.

"WHAT!?" He quickly darted his head back to see Ruby holding the case. "Hand that over if you value your life, you little brat!"

"Catch me if you can, you salamander!" She stuck her tongue out at him.

Gara growled until he looked at the Dino Greeed, "GET BACK THE TENTH CORE AND SHATTER IT!" he ordered.

The new Greeed's visor eye glowed red before it roared, the bone-like mouthplate forming a line until it opened, revealing sharp teeth as the Dino Greeed roared at Ruby.

"Uh oh…." she gulped, beginning to make her next dash.

The Dino Greeed rushed after her as each step it made, ice began to form on the ground as if the Greeed was the embodiment of the ice and no desires.

"Weiss!" Ruby called out.

Weiss conjured a glyph to freeze the Greeed in place, trapping it but it only shattered the ice trying to hold it. It roared, the floating ice shards becoming sharp projectiles that were aimed at the others.

"I got your back, Weiss!" Yang shouted, firing rounds of her Ember Celica at the shards, each shot melting them until she was greeted with the Dino Greeed as it lunged at her. She blocked the attack, only for ice to form on her gauntlet. She ducked from the next slash before Nora hopped over her and slammed her hammer on top of its skull.

"Smash!" She beamed, hitting it until the Dino Greeed got hold of the hammer and spun around before sending her flying to Birth.

Birth quickly placed in a Cell Medal into his belt and twisted the knob.

 _ **CATERPILLAR LEGS!**_

With the tank-like legs formed, he quickly rushed through and caught her before she collided with him.

Pyrrha charged towards the kaijin as she used her spear to strike the Greeed. However, the Dino Greeed stopped the attack. Since the body inside of the Greeed was still flesh and blood, her Semblance was useless. However, with her experience and reputation as the Invincible Girl, she managed to hold her own against the Dino Greeed.

"Blake, a little help here!" Pyrrha called out to the cat faunus of Team RWBY.

"B-But…. It's… It's Enrique!" Blake argued, not wanting to harm him.

The Amazon used her shield to block its claw but felt the subzero temperature of the ice that was forming on her shield, causing her to wince and fire a few rounds at the Greeed. The Dino Greeed dodged the rounds before slamming its fists down on her shield once more as ice completely covered the front. Seeing this, Pyrrha quickly jumped back to Blake.

"I know but we have to help Ruby. As long as she has that case with the tenth Core Medal, Enrique's existence is still safe. We just have to hold on as long as we can," Pyrrha said to the Faunus. "Do this, for him." The Invincible Girl and Weiss charged in as they tried to hold off the kaijin.

Blake closed her eyes, nodding softly before charging ahead with the others. She used her Semblance to dodge every strike while landing a few hits on it. The feral Greeed roared in anger as it plunged its fist into the ground, causing spikes of ice to erupt from the concrete. They evaded the ice spikes that would've skewered them.

"That's it! Show them what you can do, my puppet!" Gara laughed.

"Shut up!" Blake growled, sending a few shots Gara's way.

Gara grinned as an ice wall erupted to block the shots. He wagged his finger at Blake, "Tsk, tsk, tsk." He tsked as the Dino Greeed growled. "Dino Greeed, sic em."

They darted their heads to the new Greeed as it roared, ice slowly forming in the area as it lunged violently at the group.

* * *

I could only watch…. Watch as my friends were being hurt by the monster I had become. I wanted to stop but I couldn't do anything. The Greeed that had taken me over was now acting on its own as I began to feel my existence fading away while I was chained by the darkness.

I continued to watch from the eyes of the Dino Greeed fighting my friends, hurting them.

"Stop, please!" I pleaded, no _begged_ the kaijin to stop hurting them. I wanted it to stop but I couldn't as I could literally feel the chains pulling me back, preventing me from fighting back against the power of the Greeed that was taking me over.

The Dino Greeed blocked Pyrrha's attack before it smacked her away, chasing after Ruby who was holding onto the case that held the tenth purple Core, preventing Gara from completing the Greeedification. When Yang stopped the next attack, she gritted her teeth from the amount of strength that the Greeed wielded before ice began to spread from the Dino Greeed's feet, causing the ice to freeze the blonde brawler's weapons. Seeing this, she jumped away but the Greeed grabbed her neck and threw her against a tree.

"Just, stop!" I begged. "Stop hurting my friends!"

Nora and Birth, who was equipped with Caterpillar Legs, charge towards 'me' but I could see the Dino Greeed meet them in the middle, slamming Birth to the ground before punching Nora away.

Tears stream from my eyes, not wanting to see more of what the Dino Greeed was doing to my friends. It was beating them without mercy, wanting to retrieve the tenth Purple Core so that Gara could wipe out my existence.

I fell on my knees, the chains allowing me to place my hands over my face. "I don't want to fade away…" I muttered. "I-I want to be there for my friends."

I looked at my hands, watching them temporarily turn transparent, showing that my existence was ebbing away. I...I couldn't do anything to stop it. Was this how my life was going to end? Was I destined to become a monster as my humanity, my soul, faded away into nothingness?

After all that I had been through, _this_ was how my life…. my own existence was going to end.

' _Don't give up…'_

I blinked from hearing the voice.

' _You can't give up, Enrique…'_

' _Don't lose hope now, big bro…'_

My eyes widen from hearing those words, those voices. I slowly looked up and saw what made my eyes widen more, not in shock, but the feeling that I never thought I would see them again after what happened.

The three glowing figures were in front of me, giving me warm and familiar smiles.

The first figure was a man with short black hair, wearing a military outfit with his rank shown on his shoulders. The second person was a woman with shoulder-length brown hair and brown eyes, and slightly tanned skin. She was wearing a blue turtleneck over a yellow shirt and blue jeans. Along with the two was a little girl who looked to be 8 years old with short brown hair and eyes matching her hair, and slightly pale skin who was wearing a sundress.

It was my family...before they died.

"M-Mom… D-Dad… M-Marie…" I uttered.

' _Enrique, you can't give up after everything you have fought for. You must protect your friends,'_ Dad said. _'As a Marine, I don't let my comrades down. I was doing what was right to give them a chance to be with those they care about.'_

' _You have done many things as years went by, helping everyone. Like I did to help you, big bro,'_ Marie said.

' _We are so proud of you, Enrique.'_ Mom smiled. _'You have made a lot of new friends who will always be there for you. You have helped them so much. You even found love."_

The three got closer to me as tears fell down the moment they hugged me, feeling the familiar warmth from their embrace. I thought I would never experience this feeling again, being embraced by my family.

' _Don't cry, big bro. We are always here for you.'_ Marie comforted.

' _Remember who you are, son,'_ Dad reminded me. _'Be there for your friends. Be there to protect them from danger.'_

I looked at the three who smiled. I went back to the times I remembered being with my friends. The fun times we shared, the times we fought the bad guys, helping each other with our problems. My friends were like family to me as well. Even experiencing the feeling of love, which lead to my relationship with Blake.

My family was right. I had to be there for them. I couldn't give up; not now, not ever.

I saw the darkness around me beginning to disappear, revealing the memories of my friends. The chains that held me down were cracking, beginning to break apart.

"You guys are right. I can't give up on my friends. I can't die on them now, they need me to be there for them; to help them." I said. "I'm someone who stood strong after all that has happened. I made a promise to be there to reach out to help them, to save them! My friends… they are the ones I want to protect for they are my family! My desire… is to protect everyone who is family to me!"

The three smiled as the darkness began to disappear, light taking its place. Before I could expect it, a glow appeared on my chest, where my heart would be.

"Is this…" I place my hand on the glow, feeling the new sensation of power. Could it be...?

"My Semblance…" I realized.

' _Be careful, Enrique.'_

' _Be safe, big bro.'_

' _Remember son, Semper Fi.'_

I looked at them with a smile, tears of happiness coming down my face. "Promise me that you guys will wait for me when that day comes. Promise me you will meet me at the door to the light."

They nodded with a smile as they gave me one last hug. _"That's our boy."_ My parents said before the light finally took over.

' _Take care'_

I turned and saw what remained of the darkness take shape. It became the silhouette of the Dino Greeed and it was standing in my way. I raised my fist, with light glowing around it, before I yelled and threw a punch. It collided with the dark shape and it shattered into a million pieces.

"I'm going home."

* * *

 _Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Birth, and Ankh were nearly exhausted, trying to stop the Dino Greeed from retrieving the last Purple Core. All the while Gara watched, gloating about how their efforts were useless._

 _"It's no use, you miserable heathens!" Gara shouted. "The Dino Greeed will take that last Core and destroy it in order for it to become a complete being!"_

 _"We aren't letting you take our friend away!" Ruby shot back. "We know Enrique is still in there!"_

 _"Yeah! We know he won't give up!" Yang added._

 _"Hahahaha!" Gara laughed. "How can he when his own existence has faded away within that Greeed? He is nothing but a worthless boy who has nothing! He grew up with nothing but the life he has! And now he has returned to nothing!"_

 _"You're wrong!" Blake yelled. "So what if he grew up with nothing!? He stood strong after everything he has gone through!"_

 _Her friends looked at her, speechless. "Blake…" Yang said. She knew that her partner was in a relationship with him. Hearing this proved that she was deeply in love with the young Multi-King._

 _"He helped us see that we should cherish what we have instead of being greedy, being selfish. He showed us what it means to hold onto what you have and to never let go!"_

 _Hearing the Faunus Kunoichi's words made the Royal Alchemist frown in disgust. "Enough!" Gara yelled. "I won't hear any more of this nonsense from a pesky animal! Dino Greeed, kill them!"_

 _Their eyes widened as the Dino Greeed approaches the group, ice forming on the ground with each step. Once it was close, it growled before raising its claw at Blake. Her eyes widen in fear as the claw came down, but it never touched her. She looked at the Dino Greeed and noticed a change in its look. Its blood red eye were now green._

 _"What are you doing!? Kill them!" Gara demanded._

 _Its body began to tremble, before it stumbled back. It began to roar in what looks to be in pain as they all notice cracks forming around its body, a golden glow appearing in the cracks. As it clenched its chest, all nine of the Purple Cores shot out of his body and floated above the Dino Greeed._

 _Gold cracks formed on six of the Core Medals before they shattered to pieces that dissolved into dust, leaving only three of them intact._

 _"WHAT!?" Gara roared in shock._

 _The Dino Greeed roared once more before more golden cracks formed around its body and exploded, revealing someone that should've been gone. However, Gara had been wrong._

* * *

I stumbled a bit before regaining my balance. I looked at my hands before my lips spread into a grin. I turned around as the three purple Cores remained floating above me. The look on Gara's face was filled with shock, anger, and disbelief.

"H-How..?! How did you break free from the Greeedification!?" the Royal Alchemist demanded.

"I have realized that I should never give up on the most difficult challenges that come into my life," I answered. "Realizing that I have people that are here for me, my friends who are family to me." I gestured to the two teams behind me. "I will continue to protect them like I promised! I realized…" I grinned. "That I do have a desire, a desire to protect my family and everyone around me!"

The Purple Cores glowed a golden color before they evaporated into a mist, surrounding me. Instead of going inside my body, the mist surrounded my Aura before disappearing. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the O-Driver. I stared at it before gripping it tightly and placed it on my waist. I was no longer afraid. My eyes glowed with a purple shine.

"My friends are my family and I won't let you hurt them anymore!" I shouted resolutely.

I thrust my arm out as my Aura became focused onto it. The glow died down before I opened my hand, revealing the Invincible Combo as my eyes went back to their original dark brown color. The Cores were now purified of their darkness and were now in my control.

"How can you bear the Cores without struggling or possessing you!?" Gara demanded before it dawned on him, making me grin as he realized what had happened. "Impossible… they fused with your Aura! They became your Semblance!" The Royal Alchemist realized in horror.

The other's were surprised that I finally unlocked my Semblance, that being the very Cores that had tried to corrupt me. I placed the Cores into the Driver without struggle or hesitation before tilting it.

I grabbed the O-Scanner with no struggle either and scanned the medals. "HENSHIN!"

 **PTERA!**

 **TRICERA!**

 **TYRANNO!**

 **PU-TO-TYRA NO ZAURUS~!**

Ice began to form around the area before shattering as the PuToTyra armor was now equipped to my body.

"Get ready Gara for the fight you will regret!" I announced, no longer feeling the berserk nature of the Full Combo or the exhaustion from it.

This feeling was different. The PuToTyra armor was now my Semblance. It acted as a shield for my friends and a sword to fight against the dark forces, not a berserker that only existed to destroy everything. This new form of power _is_ the embodiment of my soul.

The invincible power to protect my friends who were my new family. The ones that I would protect to the very end.

 **(Cue PuToTyra Combo - Power to Tearer)**

My eyes flashed as I plunged my hand into the ground and pulled out the Medagaburyu.

"I am no Greeed or servant to you, Gara. I am myself, someone who reaches out to help others, to save them from losing everything." I said, facing the man.

He gritted his teeth in anger before going into his kaijin form. **"Die!"** He roared, charging towards me.

I met in the middle and blocked his strike from his claws. His arms extended, attempting to constrict me but I wasn't letting that happen. Hearing the sound of the Tyrannosaurus, the tail formed itself before I got hold of Gara's leg.

He took notice of it before I sent him flying into the wall, creating a dent with spider web cracks in the wall. I charged towards him, but he rolled out of the way. My Medagaburyu's axe blade dug into the wall and I turned to growl at him. He swung his arms at me and wrapped them around me before he threw me into a tree, breaking it. Luckily, I wasn't fazed due to my Invincible Combo armor. I quickly recovered and got back to my feet.

When he delivered the next punch, I caught his fist and clenched it. **"How… How can you be able to resist the power the Multi-King used…?! Even tame the power of those Purple Cores?!"** he demanded.

"It's because I made a promise to my family that I will help everyone. If my friends are okay then I'm okay…" I struck him with the Medagaburyu a couple of times before lifting him up. "You brought me into this world. And now I'm happy that I was brought here." I grinned under my helmet. "I gotta thank you for that but this is for trying to hurt my friends." My arm became coated in ice before I delivered a right hook to his face, sending him stumbling back. Guess my

Taking out a Cell Medal, I slid it into the Medagaburyu and pushed down the dino head.

 **GULP!**

"And this is for trying to turn me into a Greeed," I said as the Medagaburyu's blade glowed while it released a roar.

 **PUTOTYRANO HISSATSU!**

I roared along with my weapon and slashed Gara across the chest. His screams were like music to my ears as a huge pile of Cell Medals burst out on impact. I left a huge purple gash on his chest as he staggered back.

I then put in another Cell Medal before converting my Medagaburyu to Bazooka Mode. I aimed it at the madman with purple energy building up in the barrel of the cannon.

 **PUTOTYRANO HISSATSU!**

The blast burst right through him, making a huge hole in his body. This, however, did not completely finish him. While he lost a lot of Cell Medals, he was still standing as Cell Medals began to seal up the hole I made.

I looked up while he looks down at me, **"This isn't over, boy! You may have broken six of the Purple Cores but I will get the Godhood that my majesty desired!"** He vowed. **"The four kingdoms will fall before me like it should have 800 years ago! You all haven't seen the last of me!"** He vanished into a cluster of Cell Medals, retreating to who knows where.

 **(End Song)**

I looked at my hands before clenching them and relaxed. "Thanks, guys…" I muttered to myself, feeling tears run down under my helmet. Seeing my family once more was something I will never forget. No matter the amount of time, it was worth it as I was able to talk to them again. My family and friends gave me the strength to fight back against the Greeedification.

The three Purple Cores evaporated into mist before surrounding my Aura and merged with it once more. At least now, they weren't inside my body. Instead, they had become part of my soul.

Since I no longer had Medals in the Driver, I automatically reverted to civilian form. I looked back at my friends who had tears (except Ankh) running down their faces. Were they happy or relieved?

"Hey, guys," I said with a small smile. "I'm back."

Blake was the first one to run up to me before hugging me tightly, unwilling to let go. The others eventually joined as they surround me, telling me that they were happy that I was alive and not a monster. Ruby looked relieved upon seeing me.

"So what happens now…? Blake asked. "I mean Gara's the reason you are here after all…"

I lowered my head from that question. "When I first ended up here, I often thought about how I would return home, but now…"

"Now, what?"

"This place is my home," I smiled. "Why should I go back when my family is right here in front of me? There is nothing and nobody waiting for me back on Earth, not anymore. Remnant is my home now."

The group smiled upon my statement.

"Group hug!" Nora suggested before she was the first to hug and eventually the others followed except Ankh.

After a couple of minutes, they pulled away as Yang asked, "Since you finally unlocked your Semblance and the other six purple Cores are gone, what are you gonna do?"

"Well… I guess I can get ready for the Vytal Festival." I decided. "The tournament is coming up, remember?"

"Wait, how will you be able to enter?" Weiss questioned. "It requires a four-person team to participate."

Now that made me curious. How would I even enter the tournament when I was in no team? It's not like… Oh.

A grin appeared on my face. "I'll ask Ozpin. Remember GataKiriBa? I can make three clones to help me out." I suggested. "Plus I never thought about using different Core Medals on the copies."

"True," Yang nodded.

"Think that will work?" Weiss asked.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Ozpin has been known to bend the rules," I answered reassuringly.

"Hey guys," We all turned to Ruby who raised the ancient box that held the last Purple Core. "What are we gonna do with this old box? I mean, it still has that one Purple Core that Gara tried to break."

"I say it should be destroyed…." Ankh scoffed, "It's too dangerous to be kept." He snatched the case from Ruby's hands before opening it to reveal the last Core. He glared at it before he looked at Weiss. "Oi! Hand me a few Fire Dust shards."

"Why are you demanding me-" Ruby nudged her partner, not wanting to piss off the Bird Greeed. "Fine… Here…" She groaned in annoyance, handing him the Dust.

Ankh grabbed the Dust before he snatched a few Medals from Akira's milk tank.

"Oi! Those are mine!" Akira yelled.

"Whatever," Ankh huffed as he placed a few Cell Medals around the Core and placed Fire Dust on top of the Medals. He put the case down and moved back before a fireball formed in his Greeed arm. He thrust his arm as the fireball came in contact with the Dust and Medals, causing a small explosion with smoke forming. When it died down, it revealed a small crater and the shattered remains of the Purple Core and the case. "Only Core Energy can destroy Core Energy. With the Dust, it made an enhanced explosion. A Core-Energized Bomb."

"It's finally over then. Gara's plans have been stopped," Blake sighed with relief.

"We still have to be careful," Ankh reminded. "Gara will want his revenge and knowing that smug bastard, he will get what he wants one way or another." He picked up the remains of the Purple Core Medal. Since it had been shattered, it would not hurt him.

"And we will be ready for the salamander wannabe!" Yang pumped her fist.

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed.

"And we will break his legs too!" Nora added.

"Why is it always the legs?" I deadpanned.

"Why not his legs?" she retorted.

I offered no answer. That was just Nora being Nora.

We laughed while Ankh stared at me. He took a few steps forwards with Blake moving closer to make sure he doesn't try anything harmful.

"What?" I asked.

He said, "Good riddance to that damn Dino Greeed. Now I won't have to kill you. Makes my task easier to get my body back."

"As if you ever cared for him…" Blake said.

"I only need him to get my body back, kitty cat," he huffed. "Despite those Cores now being his Semblance and Aura, they are tamed."

"Tamed them… then that means!" Ruby realized before looking at me. "You found out your desire!"

I chuckled softly, "Yeah, I did… My desire… is to have the power to protect my family." I smiled at them. "You guys are my family after all."

"Aww!" Ruby, Nora, and Yang said in unison.

"I wondered what took you long enough to figure that out?" Weiss asked.

Blake smiled, hugging me as she kissed my cheek, "I'm glad to hear that from you…."

"Not only that…" They blinked, "I saw my parents and little sister…" I looked at my hands. "No matter how long, I had the chance to see them… even promising them that I will continue moving forward until that day arrives. They helped me unlock my Semblance."

Their eyes softened upon hearing this, learning that I was able to see my late family and that they managed to help me. I shook my head for a moment before looking at my friends.

"Come on, let's head to back to Beacon. After all, the festival is coming up and we all should be prepared."

"Yeah!"

* * *

After a few hours, with everything now settled down for once, I was back in my dorm. I was on my bed looking at the locket. Just looking at the old family photo filled me with nostalgia. At least I wouldn't be looking at it with sadness since I now knew my family was watching over me from the great beyond.

Ankh was elsewhere. He'd probably gone off to see if Sara was alright. He would probably deny it if we asked, so we didn't bother. Akira was at the Kougami Foundation to get his Birth Driver repaired since it had sustained damage. So, right now, I was the only one in the dorm room.

As I continued to look at the family photo, the only photo I had of my family, I smiled at the memory of seeing them again. It would be something I would never forget. After so many years, I finally got the chance to see them again.

"Thank you..."

I closed the locket and gazed down at my hand. I looked at the back of it and then my palm. Closing my eyes, I took deep breaths and focused on my Semblance. As my eyes opened, they glowed purple as my Aura poured into my hand to manifest the three Purple Cores.

"Invincibility and the ability to manipulate ice..."

With my Semblance, I guess I now had the ability to summon the Core Medals from my Aura while gaining the ability to control ice.

I heaved a sigh as the three Core Medals vanished and were absorbed into my Aura before I fell back onto my bed. A soft knock was heard on the door, making me sigh once again. Getting off my bed, I approached the door and opened it. There was Blake, standing in the doorway, in her sleepwear.

"Hey, Blake. What's up?" I asked.

"Can… I join you?" Blake asked.

I blinked before smiling, "Not at all." I opened the door further and allowed her in. I closed the door before falling onto the chair.

"Is everything alright?" I asked.

"Yeah… I just feel so relieved that you're back."

"Same here…" I place my hands behind my head. "At least now, I am no longer going through Greeedification. But I still have to be cautious so I don't use too much power from those Core Medals."

"At least they are not inside you." She pointed out, remembering that when we came back to Beacon, we all went to the infirmary to get myself checked. When we saw the X-Ray, the Core Medals were no longer inside me. They were now confirmed to be part of my Aura/Semblance. Even more relieved was that I had regained my sense of taste.

"True." I nodded.

She sighed with relief, leaning on my chest. I heard her purr in contentment.

"I'm glad you managed to beat him….. I… I was scared I'd lose you…." she said softly.

I wrapped my arms around her, bringing her close to me.

"Same here… and if Gara ever tries to pull another one of his plans, we will stop him just like we did earlier," I responded. "If it wasn't for you guys or my family, I wouldn't have been able to fully realize what I desired. You guys saved me."

Blake smiled, her purring growing louder as she nuzzled into my chest happily.

"That means a lot to me…" she said softly.

Seeing her happy, it was one of the few things I loved seeing. She was my girlfriend after all and she made me feel at peace, even loved. I stared at her for a little more before I placed my hand under her chin, making her look at me before I kissed her. A blush overcame her face, as she closes her eyes, kissing me back as soft purrs could be heard as she held me closely, wanting to stay again for the night. I pulled away from the kiss. I swore I heard a soft whine from her, making me tilt my head in confusion.

"Why… did you stop?" she asked me.

I blinked again.

"Is that bad?" I asked in confusion.

"I…. wanted to continue…." she said with a blush.

"Continue?" I repeated.

She nodded.

"I…. like kissing you….." she admitted.

Hearing this made me fluster as I stammer.

"R-Really?" She nodded in response. My flustered look now formed a blush as I looked at her before kissing her again, the kunoichi returning the kiss once more. As we kissed, I felt my mind going dizzy from the kiss.

Blake soon pulled away from our kiss, panting softly.

"E-Enrique…?" she called out to me, "Um…. D-Do… you wanna…" She blushed more, struggling to say something.

I shook my head to clear the sudden dizziness as I heard her voice.

"Huh?" I blinked.

"D-Do…. Do you…. Wanna go further in… our relationship?" she asked, looking at me.

"Go… further?" I repeated, confused to what she meant.

"Y-Yeah…" She nodded, placing her hand on my chest softly. "I-If… you'll have me?"

I was confused at first until my mind finally connected the dots. I swore a 'ding' rang in my head as I realized what she meant, my face now turning beet red.

"Y-Y-You mean _th-that_!?" I stammered.

"I-If…. You'll have me, that is?" she said before looking away from me. "I…. know I'm not much to be with sometimes, due to my past...

"B-But Blake, I-I thought we agreed to take things s-slow…" I pointed out nervously. Don't get me wrong, I do love Blake but I _never_ thought of what will happen if we ever did reach _that_ step.

"I know… but… I-no…. _We_ were too close to losing each other... " She looked at me, "And now, I know that in my heart, that I love you with every fiber of my being… And I don't ever want to lose that feeling. I feel ready to do it."

I gulped as I rubbed the back of my head. "I-I…" I tried to tell her my answer. Okay, I have to calm down. This is my girlfriend we are talking about. How can I even find the right thing to say when she is basically saying she wanted to take things up to the next level!? I took a deep breath, calming myself down before looking at Blake.

"A-Are you s-sure about this, Blake…?" I asked.

Blake stood up before sitting on my lap, a blush on her face as she nodded, "Yes.. I… I want you, Enrique." she said to me.

I stared at Blake, feeling nervous at first before I took another deep breath.

"O…" I murmured at first until I shook my head, telling myself that I had to say it. "O-Okay…"

She smiled softly, leaning in as she kisses me gently, and… It was a fun time.

* * *

The sun was beaming down through the window, with the sun's rays hitting my eyes. I slowly opened my eyes, my vision blurry at first until it became focused. I rubbed the dust out my eyes while letting out a tired yawn. I lowered my head a bit to see Blake, her head resting on my chest. She had a pleased smile on her face. Her bow was gone, revealing her cat ears. Not only that, the both of us didn't have our clothes on, the blanket being the only thing to cover our modesty.

I was slightly confused at first until the memory of what we did last night made me recall how we ended up like this.

I felt a blush rise up as I remembered. Oh right… Blake and I took our relationship further after all that happened… I still remember the mewling, and how- GAH! I have to stop remembering what we did!

I shook my head to clear my thoughts before looking at the time and saw that it was 8:23am. Looking back at Blake, I smiled before I slowly got out of bed. I grabbed a fresh set of clothes from the closet before making my way to the bathroom to get myself ready for the last day of class since tomorrow was the beginning of the Vytal Festival.

After taking a shower, I walked out, adjusting my tie on my uniform before walking over to the bed to kiss her forehead. Upon this, I heard her groan softly before she slowly opened her eyes and saw me, a smile gracing her lips.

"Morning, Enrique."

"Morning, Blake," I responded with a smile.

She sat up, using the blanket to cover her modesty. "What time is it?"

"It's almost 8:30 in the morning," I answered. "We have class today too, you should head to your team dorm and get ready for class."

She nodded as she grabbed her sleepwear and put them on before kissing me softly.

"I'll be right back," she said with a small smile before leaving my dorm.

After a while, I left my dorm and saw my friends walking out as well, "Morning you guys."

"Morning Enrique!" Ruby beamed. "Are you excited about tomorrow!? Tomorrow's the Vytal Festival!"

"To be honest, I am since this is gonna be my first time I'll be part of an event like this," I answered, making Ruby squeal in excitement before making our way to class.

The first class was with Oobleck talking and such while the rest of the school hours was spent listening to lectures from Professor Port. To me, it was the usual stuff to hear from the two but as those hours passed, class ended but the day wasn't over just yet as I decided on something for all of us to do.

As of now, Team CFVY, Team JNPR, and Team RWBY were gathered together. I even asked Akira to come along. I also had to urge Ankh to come along since I also asked Sara to come. I was busying myself as I set up the Scroll on the tripod.

"Alright, you guys ready?" I asked with a small smile.

"Yep!" Ruby nodded.

"Just hurry up," Ankh said irritably.

"Come on Ankh, this will be fun," Sara pouted, her glasses lowering a bit once again to reveal her blind eyes.

The Bird Greeed looked at her before letting out a sigh that didn't show his irritation.

"Fine…" he submitted.

Sara and I smiled before I pressed the button and joined my friends. Blake was standing to my left as Ruby and Ankh were on my right. The rest of my friends were on both sides as the camera was counting down to take the photo. When I heard the final set of beeps, I smiled.

"Say family!" I smiled as the Scroll was on its final countdown.

"FAMILY!" they all said as the scroll took a group photo of all of us.

This was one of those memories that I will never forget. Having a chance to see my family again which led to unlocking my Semblance and stopping the Greeedification. My senses were back to normal too and I was finally able to taste Ruby's cookies and normal food.

Not only that, I will never forget that my friends were with me…

My friends, they were my family now, and I will do anything to protect them and our happiness. I won't make the same mistake again for I have them by my side.

* * *

 **Blazing: Taka (x1), Kujaku (x1), Condor (x1)**

 **Scorching: Lion (x1), Tora (x2), Cheetah (x1)**

 **Strongest: Kuwagata (x1), Kamakiri (x1), Batta (x1)**

 **Legendary: Kobura (x1), Kame (x1), Wani (x1)**

 **Water: Shachi (x1), Tako (x1), Unagi (x1)**

 **Gravity: Sai (x1), Gorilla (x1), Zou (x2)**

 **Invincible: Ptera (x1), Tricera (x1), Tyranno (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

 _"Let's see how this fares for the people before it all goes into plan," Kazari grins as he flips a Cell Medal one more time into the air before absorbing it when it fell onto his hand. "Let the festival begin."_

"Kick their butts, Team RWBY!" I cheered for my friends.

"Guess it's my turn," I took a deep breath before me and my three copies enter the arena.

 **Next Time:** Vytal Festival, Round One, Team Infinity

* * *

 **A/N:** Well folks! That is it for the The Return Arc! Our Rider has finally tamed the Purple Core Medals that have become his Semblance along with the power to manipulate the ice in his surroundings. In other words, his Semblance is the PuToTyra Combo and Cryokinesis.

The reason why Blake decided to go with "The Happy Ending" for Enrique?

While it is true on they both want to go slow, due to the fact that Enrique was almost lost to her, and turned into a Greeed, she realized she wanted to be even closer to him before. Not only to confirm on their true feelings even more than before, but she did it cause she didn't want to lose him again. She did that to show she'll stay by his side no matter what.

Think of it like a pact for them. By doing this, they are now entwined with each other and shall remain like that forever. It's through this that their bond will grow from the experience, as well as their trust in one another. I hope this can clarify any confusion and such? So, for now, that's all I have to say on the matter.

Now, the next chapter will be the start of the Volume 3 Arc! I hope you all are prepared and such for what will come for our Rider? What new challenges will wait him? What will Uva, Kazari, and Gara be planning? You all will have to find out son! Look forward to the next chapter! Stay in the shadows everyone!


	32. Chapter 31: Vytal Festival,Team Infinite

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 31st chapter of OOO and this is where the 'Volume 3' arc begins! I recently watched he first episode of RWBY Volume 4 and it was so cool including the intro! It makes me wonder how the new season will start from their. Also, for our Rider's Semblance, to clear up all the confusion and such, his Semblance is basically Cryokinesis which is the control and manipulation of ice and the cold air but it is also the PuToTyra Combo which enhances his control of ice since the Combo is the also representation of ice. I hope it clears it out for you all.

Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc.).

Don't forget to check out my other stories as well.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _In a secret location, White Fang began to prepare themselves as cages full of Grimm were being moved. Soldiers preparing themselves for the plan of attack._

 _At the railings, Kazari who was in his human form watched them as a toothy grin was seen as he was flipping a cell medal in his hand. Oh how amusing it was for him to see this, the greatest warriors will soon see the downfall of the city. "I hope your people are prepared, Adam." Kazari chuckled to the bull Faunus._

" _They're more than ready…. And I do hope you understand once we get there, you leave Blake and her friends to me…." Adam demanded._

 _The feline Greeed hummed, "The desire to kill. How amusing to see."_

 _Adam glared at the Greeed as the latter continued to flip the Medal. To the Feline Greeed, he is still on guard about OOO. That form Cinder showed him, he didn't like what it was, knowing that it had Gara all over it. He has to get back his Medals even if he is aware of the dangers of fighting against that form._

 _He had to plan carefully, behind Adam and Cinder since he has his own little agenda. "Just keep on doing what you do," he drawled. "I just want to see what it brings forth. Even one's action is a desire."_

" _Hmph, just stay out of our way…." Adam growled, walking away from the Greeed._

" _Whatever you say Bull boy," he said. "Let's see how this fares for the people before it all goes into plan," Kazari grins as he flips a Cell Medal one more time into the air before absorbing it when it fell onto his hand. "Let the festival begin."_

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 31: Vytal Festival, Round One, Team Infinite**

It wasn't long before the Vytal Festival began. I sat in the crowd, watching teams after teams fighting for their kingdoms. For me, this was the first time seeing an event this grand to see. Everyone from the four kingdoms, all being here in Vale to watch the matches, the view, the food, even meeting new people. Team RWBY and Team JNPR were also excited about the festival.

While Ankh… not so much. He didn't like all the festivities that was going on but he was often glancing at people no doubt seeing what they desire but he chose not to. Not only that, wherever we go, he is simply perched on a branch, eating his treat, fiddling the Core Medals, or simply just watching the people walk past us.

"I don't see why you people even enjoy this barbaric activities?" Ankh said from the tree branch.

"Says the one who was made during those, 'barbaric' times." Akira smirked, earning a glare from the Bird Greeed.

"Come on, Ankh! It will be fun!" Ruby smiled.

"Since when was the last time I hear that from you?" He scoffed. "It is nothing to me. Only to see all these people and having their own desires for something like this."

"Have you even had a sparing match before?" Yang questioned, "The rush of the fight, the blows from you and your opponent and the satisfaction of winning. Haven't you ever had that before?"

"No. We Greeed were only commanders to fight the Grimm. We don't _feel_ satisfied." He reminded with a growl.

I nudged Yang's arm. "I think it is best you don't push his buttons, Yang."

"Not my fault he's a stick in the mud." She huffed.

"I heard that!"

Ruby decided to intervene as she brought up a topic. "Say Enrique, have you decided what you will do since you are gonna use that Strongest Combo to make three copies to make a team?" She asked.

I pondered for a moment. Ruby was right though, I had to think of something for the Copies so they can use different tactics in the tournament. A light bulb clicked before looking at Ankh. "Hey Ankh can I see the Medal Book?"

Ankh immediately looked at me with a glare. "Why in the world would I allow that!?" He questioned. "I am the one who holds onto them."

Blake rolled her eyes, sweeping the book as she hands it to me, "Here."

"Hey!" Ankh growled before taking it back. "I won't allow it."

"Will you stop being so stubborn? If you don't do this, Enrique can't be part of the Festival!" Blake argued.

Ankh glared at the Faunus before shoving it to her. "Fine," he then jabbed his finger at me. "You better not lose those Core Medals or my Taka Medal. If you do, you're gonna regret it."

"A-Alright," I gulped upon his death glare.

"So, got any ideas? I thought a few Combos you could use!" Ruby beamed, handing me a notebook labeled [Awesome Combos for Enrique] on it.

"I'll think of something," I nodded. "Now come on, let's go see what the festival has in store for us?"

"Yeah!" Yang, Ruby, and Nora cheered in unison.

"I'll meet you guys at the Oden booth. I'm hungry." Akira waved off as he left the ten of us behind.

"You idiots go, I rather stay here and not see more of the stupid nonsense you all do." Ankh said, unwrapping another ice cream as he tossed the crumpled wrapper into a trash can across from us.

"He does know, he'll get fat for eating those right?" Yang whispered to me and Ruby, a smirk on her face.

"I won't!" Ankh growled.

"Sure you won't," Yang grinned.

"Why you little…"

"Come on you dolts! Otherwise we'll leave without you!" Weiss shouted to us.

"Uh oh, we better go before the Ice Queen freezes us." Yang smirked. Ruby giggled while I followed the two as Ankh watched us leave.

* * *

 _The Bird Greeed scoffed, "Finally they are away…" he leaned his head against the tree trunk as he had a chance to not hear that stupid nonsense from them. He remained perched on the branch as the people that pass by him glanced at him whenever they pass by._

 _He glared at a few, sending them walking away quickly since he simply wants to not hear or see more of these annoying people._

" _That voice… Ankh?" A familiar voice rang out._

 _The Bird Greeed open his right eye and looked down at the ground to see the blind girl, Sara who was looking around due to her blindness. "Raise your head up and turn your head about 15 degrees." He answered._

 _She did as instructed before a soft smile forms on her lips, "It's good to see you, what brings you to the festival?"_

" _I am relaxing from the stupid nonsense from the idiots of Beacon," he replied. "I rather enjoy being up here then down there with them."_

 _She giggled softly, "Well, I'm glad to hear that. Would you like to sit with me?"_

" _I'm… fine where I'm at."_

 _Sara giggled, "It sounds like something a bird would- oh…" she recalled when she felt the strange arm he can bring forth. The texture of those feathers was so soft… heartwarming… she quickly shook her head as a blush formed on her cheeks._

" _T-Then… may I sit with you?" She asked shyly._

 _Ankh stopped for a second, oddly enough his old memories re-emerging slightly before he shook his head, "I… don't mind…" He said._

 _Sara smiled, as she got up, though, it took her a bit to navigate to sit with him. Once she does, her blush grew a bit, "For… some reason I always feel relaxed when I'm with you…. As if… we met before…"_

 _Ankh froze over those words. He looked at her as a little girl he knew in the past took her place, making his eyes widen before he quickly shook his head._

" _Um…. would it be too much of a trouble… to ask if we can go get some food, after the next match?" she asked him, scooting closer._

 _Ankh tried to shake away those memories of his past. Even going through those so called dreams and nightmares. "... fine…" he replied. She smiled, nodding to him before she leaned against him._

 _Ankh wanted to move her away but a part of him couldn't due to the reminders of that little girl all those years ago. It couldn't… as a Greeed, he doesn't believe in second chances, he believes in being complete._

 _Just why was it so difficult to push her away from him? The very monsters that have caused trouble and yet he, the strongest of the five couldn't.. 'what is wrong with me!?' He shouted in his thoughts._

* * *

All nine of us began to enjoy our time in the festival while we waited for the tournament to begin. Ruby and Jaime already registered. I did as well but with a Team name I decided to not tell the others.

Each one of my friends went to different booths with one another to enjoy what they have. I wanted to see what else they had as I was exploring the activities they have. It was so cool to see this to be honest. My old home never had such events this large but this sure takes the cake.

I was also excited to be part of the tournament but at the same time nervous. I mean, this _is_ my first time to be in this kind of event. I hope that everything I learned from Ankh will help me win.

"Oh, hello Enrique…." A familiar voice rang out. I turned to see Cinder there. She was wearing gray pants and boots; a beige leather, sleeveless jacket with light-beige details; brown gloves, a sarashi tied around her chest and another around her hips, and a pauldron on her left shoulder. She was also wearing a belt around her waist, which has multiple brown pouches attached to it. "Congrats on getting into the Festival…."

"Yep, and I'm already signed up for the tournament," I smiled. "How has it been with your team?"

"We have done well…" She said, a soft smile as she walks over, "I look forward to battling against you in the Festival...Maybe even before or after?" She said, heading towards me.

I chuckled as I rubbed the back of my head. "Right now, I want to see how my friends fight on the first match." I then remembered my Semblance. "Oh! I almost forget to tell you, you are not gonna believe this!" I smiled. "I finally unlocked my Semblance!"

Her eyes widen with surprise yet happy as well, "Congrats. I believe we should celebrate. Care to join me and one of my teammates?" She offered. "We plan on having a meal soon since we finished our first match."

"Actually, I have to decline, sorry Cinder." I apologized. "I promised Blake that I would treat her to something after the first match."

"Can't you reconsider? After all… You will be spending more time with her later…" Cinder said, placing her hand on my chest.

I gently moved her hand away. "Sorry Cinder, really I am." I apologized once more. "I promised Blake after what happened yesterday."

"Hmm… very well. But I expect one lunch date with you." She said, backing away.

"I'm in a relationship with Blake," I said. "I don't want to upset her or get her worried."

"It's just a small get together between friends. Aren't we friends?" she asked me.

She did prove a point, we are friends after all. "Um… alright but is it alright if I can bring Blake along?" I suggested.

"If that will help you." she nodded.

"Okay, see you after the first match," I smiled before noticing the time. "Oh crap! The tournament is about to start! I have to go, I don't wanna miss the fight!" I quickly ran to the stadium to meet up with the others since the tournament was about to begin.

* * *

Blake and the others were waiting for me at the entrance, ready to give me some luck and possibly advice.

"You guys ready for this?" I asked with a grin.

"Yeah. Knock them dead!" Ruby smiled.

"Or break their legs!" Nora grinned deviously.

We then heard the PA as it finally began the announcement.

 _[Welcome everyone! To the next installment to the Vytal Festival!]_ Professor Port's voice rang out as students, people and teachers from all over the kingdoms gathered as they cheered happily. Confetti and glitter fell from above as the banners fell, signaling the Festival has started.

 _[Today will be an interesting one for sure. The matches for the next few weeks will be shown as well as the teams fighting. The categories will be done as Teams, Doubles, then Singles.]_ Oobleck's voice rang out, _[As 'Teams' you will fight along with your whole team against your opponents. Do your best with your skills, weapons, Semblance and the environment of the arena. With Double matches, your team must pick two fighters and finally, Single match is going to change for this Festival. Only one member of your team may enter the Single's match. The winner will be decided by the high council after that, and the kingdom who is chosen will not only gain a trophy, but also some favors from skilled Hunter's and Huntress's. Even a special wish may be granted to them as well.]_

Everyone in the stadium, including those watching murmured from this, surprised to hear such a prize for the winners. But this got the blood of the teams pumping as they could imagine whatever wish they wanted.

 _[And our first match is Team ABRN vs Team RWBY!]_ Oobleck announce as the large screen displayed the team names and members of the said teams.

"Looks like you four are up," I smiled. "Good luck and show them what you got."

"We'll beat them easy peasy." Yang winked.

"Good luck, Blake." I said to her. She smiled and kissed me gently before they walked out into the arena while I went to the seats to watch the fight.

I watched as the two teams entered the arena, now giving me a sight of Team ABRN. In front of them was Team ABRN, comprised by two males and two females. One female was darker skinned with platinum blonde hair and golden eyes, wearing a She wears a yellow robe with only one wide, loose fitting sleeve over a black tube top. She also has black pants and shoes and a red sash embroidered with a white "endless knot" on it. She has bandages on her legs and arms, as well as a red necklace and what appears to be two matching red sticks on the back left side of her head. She also carried a strap like whip around her arms.

Next to her was a male, lightly-tanned skin, amber eyes, and black hair. He wears a yellow sash over a dark blue vest and gray pants with yellow lacing up the sides. He also wears black boots and black fingerless gloves, and a dark gray necklace. He carried a unique staff in his hand.

Next was another female, she had light green hair swept to her right, with green eyes and fair complexion. She also wears two black facial markings on her cheeks. Reese's attire reflects a skater motif. She wears a dark purple hooded sweater over a mauve sweater. She also wears black shorts, as well as knee pads and elbow pads on her arms and legs. She also wears black shoelaced sneakers that go all the way to her ankles. And oddly enough she had what looked to be a skateboard in her hand.

And finally the last member of Team ABRN was a male, long pink hair tied back into a short ponytail, with an undercut, and the undercut portion of his hair is black. He has a dark complexion and blue eyes. His outfit consists of a cream-colored short-sleeved jacket and a black, long-sleeved V-neck shirt, with cream colored fingerless gloves. He wears black medium-length pants and cream colored sneakers. And was carrying a rifle in his hands.

"Kick their butts, Team RWBY!" I cheered for my friends.

* * *

 _Team RWBY prepared themselves as the countdown began. Even hearing their friend cheer for the four gave them the motivation to win this match. "You guys ready?" Ruby asked her teammates._

" _More than ready! Let's kick their butts!" Yang smirked._

 _3…_

 _2…_

 _1..._

 _The fighters got into their stances as everyone viewing were now on the edge of their seats._

 _ **BEGIN!**_

 _Upon that, the stage shook as the round edges were pulled downward, what came up was several environments. Ranging from a forest, a lava pit, glacier, and even a steamy mountain range. Once finished the bell went off as both teams charged ahead, each one striking and clashing with each other before they broke apart, each one heading into a different zone to fight and win._

 _Blake exchange blows against the skater, her blades colliding with the hoverboard of her opponent until she flips away, readies herself and charges in once more. Yang on the other hand was fighting against the leader of Team ABRN as she was delivering punch after lunch with her opponent blocking each attack._

 _Nearby, the other member of Team ABRN aimed his assault rifle at Yang until a sudden burst of frost explodes behind him, ice now formed up to his thighs. The source being from Ruby with a cheeky grin and her Crescent Rose being the weapon she fired. "Got your back, sis!""But who's got yours?" Her opponent questioned. The teammate with the staff twirled it, ready to hit her until a black glyph appeared behind him. Weiss then shot forward, hitting him and kicking the Hunter back and away from Ruby._

" _My, BFF!" Ruby responded._

" _Uh…. no…" Weiss denied, charging after her opponent._

 _Ruby pumps her first before whispering, "Yes."_

 _Their opponent crouches with his weapon as he sees a white glyph appear in front of him. A second later, Weiss dashes by and slashes him, then leaps up and attempts an aerial attack but her opponent was able to block the attack._

 _The heiress changed tactics as she readies her sword while preparing a glyph behind her, and Ruby uses it to launch herself straight up and come down with her Scythe with a spinning attack. Though the teammate from ABRN, blocked it with his staff, a smirk on his face as Ruby notices it. She grimaces and blasts herself away to Weiss' side while Bolin rushes at them before rolling away from the shards of ice that rained down on him and jumping over Ruby's next attack and continues running._

" _Whaaaat!?" Ruby exclaimed._

 _Her opponent manages to reach for an orange crystal deposit and slice off a shard before tossing it over to the skater over in the ice part of the stadium. With the shard in hand, the greenette fuses the shard with her board, turning the aqua lights to a crimson shade before using her board to free her other teammate from the icy snare._

 _Seeing her teammate free, she comes back to Blake and slams her board into her enemy's blade, but propels herself backwards and knocks Blake through a frozen pillar._

 _She then attempts to use her board to slam the disguised Faunus into the ground but when she dodges that, she spins around in a flaming arc which Blake barely escapes from thanks to her Semblance. Now seeing that it was time to change tactics._

 _Blake launches the pistol attachment of her Gambol Shroud at a nearby glacier and launches herself behind it, as the greenette follows her and sees Blake with her back turned to her under and arch. She grins before riding in to deliver a flaming spiral at her. However what she didn't expect to see the ribbon Blake launched to trap her._

 _Blake pulls the ribbon with as much force as she can, causing the green-haired girl of Team ABRN to slam body-first into the string, only to use the final kick to knock the greenette out of the stage with the skater crashing into the wall of the stands before landing on the ground defeated._

 _[OH! And like that, ABRN is out one player! Reese may have done her best with her skating skills, but Blake's tactics worked well! Can ABRN pull a fast one and win this round?] Port said, announcing the game._

" _Damn it! They took out Reese!" Arslan growled._

 _The remaining three members continue to fight against the four but they were losing slowly. The second from the teamwork they have. The crowd at the edge of their seats to see the victory as Team RWBY was clearly winning._

 _Yang rushed in, with the use of their abilities and began to deliver to the platinum blonde but what she didn't know was that Weiss, Ruby, and Blake were pushing the other members towards the leader of the team. As the leader of Team ABRN tries to block each attack, she saw Blake's blade coming down in which she quickly jumped back, but realized her teammates are behind her as Weiss formed a frozen slide for Yang._

" _Yang! Now!" Weiss shouted._

 _Yang blasts herself forward and skims over the wall of ice, catching Blake's pistol as her teammate uses Ruby as a launch pad to jump off towards the remaining members of ABRN. The three only had a second to look horrified as Blake whips Yang around, tugging hard on it, shooting Yang out to land a devastating punch that sends the trio flying into their elimination, thus making Team RWBY victorious._

 _[And Team RWBY have won their first match!] Oobleck stated, as the crowd cheered in victory, even the ones that were rooting for ABRN were clapping for them all._

* * *

I smiled as I saw my friends winning the first match. Seeing that the match was over, I decided to meet up with them by the exit to wait for the four.

"Man, that was a rough one…" Yang sighed with relief.

"Congratulations you guys," I complimented. "You guys did awesome out there!"

"Thanks Enrique." Blake smiled, kissing my cheek, "Just make sure you're prepared for anything out there."

"We just have to wait and see who is called up next," Weiss crossed her arms.

"In the meantime, how about we all head to the fairgrounds?!" Ruby beamed.

"Sounds like a good idea," I agreed before all five of us went to the fairgrounds as the scythe wielder was excited that she and her team won and I don't blame her.

"The question now is where should we eat?" Ruby blinked.

"Gee, if only there was somewhere on campus to get food around here." Weiss shrugged sarcastically.

"Uh, look around," I deadpanned.

"Oh right," she realized.

"Come on, I know just the place to find." Yang said, leading us to a noodle stand. And there we saw Akira eating his usual meal of oden.

"Hey! Mr. Akira!" Yang called out.

The said Huntsman turned around to see us before swapping the food he had. "I take it you four won?" He smiled.

"We sure did!" Ruby beamed.

"Well that's a job well done but remember, it will get more difficult." He reminded. "Come, sit. I'll pay for you all."

"Thanks Akira!" Ruby smiled, sitting down as we all do the same as we ordered our meals while Blake ordered hers but on top of the noodles was fish. A lot of fish.

"You sure you can eat that much, Blake?" Yang asked, only to earn a glare from her, "I stand corrected." The blonde turned away.

"Mind if we join you?" We all turned our heads to see Jaune and the rest of JNPR there, Akira only smiling and nodding as they join in on the meal as well.

"I'm paying so no need for you guys to worry," Akira assured.

"How often do you eat Oden anyway Mr. Akira?" Jaune asked.

"Almost every day when I have time."

"Isn't that a bit unhealthy?" Jaune asked.

"Heh, it was the same thing that Ruby's and Yang's parents told me during my years in Beacon." He chuckled, "The only one to get me was that dusty ol' Qrow."

"What now about a bird?" I blinked.

"No silly. Qrow! Yang's and mine's uncle!" Ruby giggled.

"He even calls me the Oden Eater while I call him the Dusty Crow." The huntsman recalled the old memories.

"He sounds… kinda like one of those harsh uncles that care." I noted.

"You have no idea," Ruby and Yang sighed.

Guess I was right about the harsh uncle part. My Scroll rang in which I reached in my pocket and saw the notification, making me grin. "Looks like I'm up." I announced. "Guess we have to wait on our meals then."

"Knock em dead!" Nora cheered.

I chuckled before I got up from my seat and made my way to the stadium. Upon entering, I took deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I was gonna fight in front of everyone, to the whole world no less! Okay calm down and focus on what I have to do. That is what Ankh told me. Remember my training and all the lessons I learned from him. I reached in my jacket and pulled out the O-Driver before placing it on my waist, the belt hugging my waist before placing in the three Green Cores. After placing in the Cores, I tilted the buckle to scan.

 **KUWAGATA!**

 **KAMAKIRI!**

 **BATTA!**

Holograms of green Core Medals swirled around me as three more lined in front before fusing together to slam against my torso.

 **"GA~TA GATA GATAKIRI-BA! GATAKIRIBA**!" the OOO Driver chanted as my armor formed. Focusing on its power, three copies were made before I grabbed the Medal book. "Let's see…" I pondered.

From what I can tell, I would need someone for defensive measures, close combat, mid range combat, and long range. While my copies can use random medals, I could stay in TaToBa. Making my choice, I grabbed Gorilla, Kame, Tora, Kujaku, Cheetah, Wani, Zou, Taka, Shachi, and Lion along with the Sai Medal for good measure in case I have to use another Full Combo.

With the Medals gathered, I handed my copies their own set before we all scanned them.

 **KUWAGATA! GORILLA! CHEETAH!**

 **SHACHI! KAME! ZOU!**

 **LION! KUJAKU! WANI!**

 **TAKA! TORA! BATTA! TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

Now all four of us were using the respective pieces as I look at my copies. "Alright, we are gonna handle this as a team. Copy #1, you will provide close combat and long range combat." I informed the GataGoTah copy who nodded before looking at ShaKaZo. "Copy #2, you will provide defensive tactics and close range combat alongside Copy #1." I looked at LaJaWani. "And Copy #3 will provide mid-range attacks and blind the opponents. Just don't use too much power of the Liondas Helm." I shouldered Medajalibur, "Alright, let's go!"

"Yeah!" The copies agreed before we waited as the PA was heard.

 _[Welcome back everyone! We are here for the second part of the Team Battle!]_ Port's voice was heard from the PA.

 _[And looks like Enrique from Beacon has figured out a new strategy for taking on a whole team! Let's see what this new idea of his can do?]_ Oobleck said.

[ _Quite right]_ Port agreed as my copies and I entered the stage. [ _And we can see that Team Infinite has entered the arena. I say it matches due to his abilities. Endless possibilities of fighting the enemy]_

My armored copies and I looked at the crowd as we had to remain focus since we are about to fight.

"Wow…" Copy #1, GataGoTah uttered.

"No kidding…" Copy #3, LaJaWani nodded.

"This is a lot of people who are watching us…" Copy #2, ShaKaZo gulped.

Hell even I had to agree with my clones, I never realized that there are this many people in the stadium.

[ _And at the other side, Team JSMN had entered the arena]._

My copies and I turned around to see the said team entering the arena. What walked in were four people, and their outfits screamed Atlas. The one leading them was a male, with silver hair, green eyes and wearing standard issue Atlas armor, while it showed on his person to be several collapsed staffs, batons and two pistols.

Next to him was a young girl, with short pink hair, oddly enough wearing some Atlas armor on her chest, while she had shorts on, while she seemed to have several vials on her person, each one with a different color.

Next to her was a large bulky man. He had rough skin, along with a tail on his behind. He simple wore a ripped shirt, with two large, uniquely made gauntlets. Ones I can tell would pack a serious punch, should the opponent not concentrate. At least I brought Sai Medal while two of my copies had Zou and Gorilla.

And finally near the back was a girl, the same size as Ruby with a black ponytail, wearing a kimono, and carrying two Sais on her person. She turned to me as had some sort of devious grin on her face.

"Guess it's us four against you four," I noted, tossing ShaKaZo the Medajalbur as the Tora Claws unfolded, GataGoTah slammed his fists together while LaJaWani summoned the small shield due to the Kujaku Medal he is equipped with. "And I assume you four are from Atlas?" I guessed.

"Yeah, and we'll crush you, Beacon dog!" the larger one growled, smashing his fists together.

"Calm down, Slick. While he is part of Beacon, he is still a hunter in training like us." The girl with the pink hair said to him. The Faunus huffed as he had his sights set on my GataGoTah Copy due to the Gori Bagon Gauntlets. "I'll fight him then."

"And I'm taking the kitty looking one…." The girl in the kimono giggled, her sights on LaJaWani. The clone shivered upon the feeling that this was a bad idea.

"Just don't go too far, Maxie." The leader said.

"Aw…. but I thought I could do it here for once, Nexus?" Maxie pouted.

"We're here to fight and win for Atlas. That's all that matters…" Nexus said. "Even Janet knows this." He turned to the pink haired girl.

"Correct," she looked at ShaKaZo while the Nexus guy had his sights trained on me.

The countdown began as we all prepared ourselves. "Remember you three, we wait for the right time to use them."

"Roger that boss," LaJaWani nodded.

"I'm all for it." GataGoTah gave a thumb up.

"Same here!" ShaKaZo agreed.

 _3…_

 _2…_

 _1…_

' _Here goes nothing…'_ I muttered in my thoughts. ' _It's all or nothing.'_

 _ **BEGIN!**_

"He's mine!" Sick growled, charging ahead, as he does, he makes a few imprints into the ground below, like his weight was tremendous as he tackled Copy #1 and began to use his brute force to push him away.

"Holy crap!" LaJaWani gawked upon seeing what happened with GataGoTah, the two brawlers now fighting. LaJaWani quickly aimed at the girl with the kimono as a fireball charged up in the shield before firing at her.

She dodged the attack, drawing out her Sai's as she began to strike, maneuver or misdirect LaJaWani's attacks, leaving him exposed several times for her to strike him. The clone quickly focused on his helm, the sound of a lion heard as his helmet began to glow brightly, causing the girl to cover her eyes from the sheer light. Seeing this as his chance, he quickly used the Wani legs, energy shaped as crocodiles formed with each kick he delivered to her.

With ShaKaZo, he used his Kame Shield to block the attacks Janet was throwing at him until he used his helmet, the sound of an orca heard behind his helmet and sprayed a torrent of water at her. She quickly rolled away from the attack, only for ShaKaZo to charge towards her with the Medajalibur.

Janet though had a smirk before she grabbed one of her vials, and upon opening it, what spewed out was grey like dust, forming into a sword as she blocked and clashed against ShaKaZo's weapon, surprising him.

"EH!?" He got out until he had to quickly block the attack as Janet pressed on as the two were clashing against each other's blades.

With me, I was using the Tora Claws to block Nexus' staff but thanks to the Taka Helm, I was able to see where he was trying to attack as I continue to block as fast as I can before using the Batta Legs to leap over him and kicked his back, sending him stumbling forward.

I thrusted my left Tora claw but Nexus quickly blocked the attack, the both of us face to face upon the clash as we try to see who can exert more force to the other.

"I gotta admit, you sure can hold your own. What's your name?" He asked me.

"Enrique is my name," I answered before he slammed his staff against my chest, my Aura lowering before he swung it down, sending me down as my Aura along with the other Copies having their Aura on yellow.

"Well, Enrique. I must say, you would make a fine Atlas soldier." Nexus smirked before he kicked me as my copies and I groaned.

[ _It seems Team Infinite are on the losing battle with their Aura on the yellow]_ Oobleck announced.

[ _It would seem so! How will the four be able to counter the strength of Team JSMN?]_ Port said.

Strength? Wait, that's it! I quickly looked at my copies before looking at GataGoTah. How was I stupid to not realize I made three clones!? I can try and use full combos on myself and one of my clones! "Hey, GataGoTah! I have an idea!"

"What is the idea, boss?" GataGoTah asked.

"Yeah, we are getting our asses kicked by those Marine wannabes." LaJaWani said.

"ShaKaZo, GataGoTah, switch Cheetah and Zou with each other." The clones looked at each other before nodding as all four of us got back up before copy #1 and #2 switched the two said medals before tossing him Sai.

[ _Oh ho! Seems team Infinite has a plan! I wonder what it will be?]_ Oobleck wondered curiously.

Team Jasmine got prepared as LaJaWani used his Liodas helm to blind them to give us time. "Hurry you guys!" He said.

With GataGoTah and ShaKaZou switching Cores, they quickly scanned them.

 **SHACHI! KAME! CHEETAH!**

 **SAI! GORILLA! ZOU! SAGOZO… SAGOZO!**

With the Cores switched Copy #2 was now ShaKaTah and Copy #1 was now SaGoZo who slammed his fists to his chest and banged the ground with his feet, now in the Full Combo.

"Che, I'm taking him on!" Slick growled, charging towards SaGoZou at full force.

"Slick, wait!" Nexus called out, wanting him to stop, spite the Faunus not listening. When the Rhino Faunus got close and punched him, the gray armored Rider remained where he stands. Seeing this made him slowly look at SaGoZo.

"My turn," He said before he delivered a headbutt that sent Slick down due to the full power of the Sai helm being capable of shattering anything with a headbutt.

"Who's tough now?" SaGoZo asked the Rhino Faunus as the latter's Aura was dangerously close to being red.

[ _Incredible! It seems he has withstood Slick's attack and returned the favor!]_

"T-That's…. That's not possible…" Slick got out, backing up from SagoZo.

SaGoZo slams his fists together, "You want a beatdown!? Then let's go for it!" My clone rushed towards the Rhino Faunus.

"Che… You'll regret that!" Slick shouted, rushing ahead as well. The two threw back their fists before striking them. A shockwave pouring out from their fists as they struggle to push the other one back.

Seeing him occupied, I quickly looked at my other two copies. "Alright, ShaKaTah, spread the water!"

"Where?"

"The whole arena!"

He seemed confused at first until he realized it. "Oh! I get it!" He quickly used the Shachi Helm and sprayed water all over the arena, the people and the other three members of JSMN confused.

I took deep breaths until I slowly extended my hand as I focus on my Aura, the said force decreasing a bit before my lenses became purple for others to see until it went back to normal and I revealed the three Purple Cores. "Time to for a cold introduction of my Semblance!" I grinned before changing the Medals and scanned them.

 **PTERA!**

 **TRICERA!**

 **TYRANNO!**

 **PU-TO-TYRA NO ZAURUS~!**

The crests aligned before the whole arena began to freeze due to the water. My clones jump to avoid the water that was freezing as my Semblance/Armor formed.

"What the? What's that form?" Nexus got out, backing up as the others were showing shock.

"My Semblance," I announced as the ice began to crack before forming pillars and grinned. "I can also control ice, in other words… Cyrokinesis. I do recall your teammate having a vial of Ice Dust." I focused on not the Invincibility power due to the consequences of using it too much but the power to control the ice around us.

Nexus's eyes widen as he turns to his teammate, "Janet! Get rid of the Vial now!" He shouted to her.

She frantically grab hold of the said vial to prevent a mistake and tossed it, only for myself to use my Semblance to stop the vial and manipulated the ice inside it to send it back to her. I then plunged my hand into the ground before pulling out the Medagaburyu as my other two copies and myself charge towards the three while the SaGoZo was fighting Slick.

My Axe met with Nexus's weapon before I focused on the power of the armor as I heard the sound of the Pteranodon behind my helmet. The wings formed on my back before I flew around the three as I began to manipulate the ice, slowly forming a barrier to trap them. I may be new to this but it looks like my armor enchances the Semblance since PuToTyra represents ice.

"Nexus, Janet, Maxie!" Slick growled as he pushes SaGoZo away.

"We'll be fine! Just find a way to knock them down!" Nexus ordered. "If you can take out the purple one, we'll be able to win this!"

Uh oh, guess I have to change tactics and fast!

Slick punched SaGoZo away before he went after me, making me panic. "SaGoZo! Gravity!"

"You sure boss?"

"What do you think?"

"Don't say, I didn't warn ya." SaGoZou sighed, his helmet lighting up as he slams his fist on the ground, upon doing that, a ripple of gravity surged out, hitting not only me but Slick as we were pushed onto the ground.

[ _Our gray armored student has literally turned the tides! The gravity in the arena has became heavy leaving him the only one standing!]_

SaGoZo charged towards Slick who was struggling to get up until SaGoZo used his left gauntlet and launched himself into the air due to the gauntlet that was left behind. Slick raised his head to see my clone who aimed his fist at Slick. "SEIYA!" He roared before punching him in the face, sending him flying out of the arena while shattering the ice.

 _[And with that, Slick has been knocked out of the ring! Leaving only three members of JSMN left!]_

"Slick!" Janet called out.

"He's out…. It's up to us now…" Nexus frowned as he tries to get up from the gravity, "Maxie? You can use your Semblance now…"

Myself, LaJaWani, SaGoZo, and ShaKaTah finally got back up as we look at the remaining three members of Team JSMN. Whatever he said wasn't good.

She grinned, a oddly glow emanating from her body as she waved her hand around, making a circle, "Finally.. Space Room is a go…" She said, and like that, everything went dark for us.

"Great, who turned off the lights?!" ShaKaTah asked.

"LaJaWani, use the Liondas helm!" I stated.

"Gotcha!" He nodded before lighting up the area.

Upon doing that, all we saw was a black void around us. It encased us and I couldn't tell how big or small it was.

"What do we do now?" SaGoZou questioned.

"I don't know but keep your guard up," all four of us were back to back, now nervous out of our minds upon this. I don't think my Semblance could help. If I used LaToraTah, it would affect all of us due to the sheer heat it uses.

We heard a giggle making us freeze up as we stood close to each other. "It seriously creeps me out," LaJaWani said.

ShaKaTah looked around, only to feel something before something grabbed him, dragging him into the shadows, we heard a scream of fear before silence fell.

 _[And looks like Team Infinite finally lost a member! Now it's a three on three fight!]_

We panicked as LaJaWani place his hands on his head. "Oh, man! Oh man! What are we gonna do!?" He began to panic until SaGoZo slapped him across the helmet. "Thanks."

Sometimes I wonder if my clones act differently since they are a part of me. I shook my head as we try to keep it together while looking around. "LaJaWani, try to fire a fireball all around!"

"Okay," he undoes her a fireball in all directions to see any results.

" _Seems you little fishes think you can find me? Or stop me…."_ Maxie's voice rang out with a giggle, _"This is my Semblance, Spacial Room. With it, I can make a large enough space, inside this void. And in here, I am it's master… Just be careful where you step… Cat head."_

"Eh?" He then looked down, only to see the shadows below his feet moving. They then sprouted up and began to drag him deeper into the void. "Help me!"

SaGoZo panicked as he grabbed the fellow clone and tried to drag him out, hell even I had to help him as the both of us try to pull LaJaWani out.

" _Silly boys…. This void is on par with that of a black hole… Once it begins it'll only stop once all matter, or people are dragged in. You guys are finished…"_ Maxie giggled.

"We need to think of a new strategy…. If we keep pulling, we'll lose." SaGoZo stated.

I bit my lip under my helmet as we were the only two left as LaJaWani was sucked in. I had to think of something! I know that space is like a void with nothing around but even space has to have a hold.

* * *

 _[The second member of Team Infinite is out of the fight! Leaving only two remaining against Team JSMN!] Port said. [How will the two fare against the three atlas students?]_

 _Team RWBY looked worried as they could only see the large black dome that covered the area. "Come on Enrique! You can't lose here!" Ruby shouted. were now on the edge of their seats, worried about what was happening._

" _Kick their butts!" Yang added on._

" _He is planning." They quickly looked left to see Ankh along with Sara._

" _Gah! When did you get here, Ankh!?" Weiss asked._

" _Idiots…" he scoffed before pointing at the arena. "Even that Semblance the little girl is using has its own flaws."_

" _It does?" Jaune questioned, "Because, every time that girl enters it, he loses a teammate."_

" _Even space can be changed," the Bird Greeed huffed. "You heard her say Spacial?" They nodded. "And what is one of the key items for the spacial void?"_

 _They all pondered until Pyrrha found out. "Gravity."_

" _If they were smart, they would've tried to taken out SaGoZou. Now they'll see why they failed." Ankh said._

* * *

Gotta think, gotta think… that Maxie girl said this was the spacial void, being that of a black hole. Wait… a black hole? It requires a very large amount of… that's it!

"SaGoZo! Use the power! Give it all your might!"

"Huh?"

"This is a spacial void remember? It requires the use of gravity!" I explained. SaGoZo looked at me for a moment before he nodded.

He took a few steps as he first started with one fist to his chest. He did the same with his other arm. He continued at a slow pace until he began to go quicker and faster. "RAAAAAHHHHHHH!" He bellowed as he was slamming his fists to his chest, gray energy surging from his body with each beating as I try to hold my ground.

Light then began to pour into the void, bit by bit before tears started forming. And in seconds the void collapsed, leaving us with room to move and strike.

"Impossible!" Maxie got out.

"We have no choice, finish them off!" Nexus ordered as the last three members of Atlas charged ahead.

"Shall we finish this too?" SaGoZou turned to me.

"Yep," I agreed before I grabbed a Cell Medal and placed it in the axe, closing the dinosaur head.

 **GULP!**

I converted my Medagaburyu to Bazooka Mode. I aimed it at the three with purple energy building up in the barrel of the cannon while SaGoZo scanned the medals he has.

 **PU-TO-TYRA NO HISSATSU!/SCANNING CHARGE!**

 _[Seems both teams are ready to end this match! Which one will prevail and win?]_ Oobleck announced.

SaGoZo was lifted into the air before coming down, the ground moving as the three members of Team JSMN were now trapped. The three try to get themselves free but were being brought towards the both of us as SaGoZo's gauntlets and helmet glowed while my weapon was charging up more power.

"Nexus! I can't move!"

"Me either!"

Nexus watched as they were unable to move an inch, only staying put as he sees the cannon building up energy. Seeing this made him chuckle.

SaGoZo delivered a triple combo with his fists and head, sending them flying until I unleashed the blast into the three, causing an explosion. When the smoke died down, it revealed the three bruised and unconscious, the screen showing their Aura depleted.

 _[And the winner of this match is Team Infinite!]_ Oobleck shouted, the crowd clapping and cheering for my victory.

I let out a sigh of relief before my copy and I approach them. We stared down at them before extending our hand out to the four. "Good fight you four," I complimented.

"Yeah, what boss said," SaGoZo agreed as we pulled them up. "We should go, the others are waiting for us." He said, picking up the Cores that laid on the ground of the other two clones.

"Right," I nodded as the clone removed the gray Core Medals and handed them to me. Without the cores, my clone was absorbed back into my body before I walk away to meet up with my friends.

* * *

Inside the waiting area, Blake, Ruby, Ankh, Akira and the others waited for me, as my friends congratulated me for my victory. "You almost had me worried, Enrique." Blake sighed.

"Hey, even I thought I was gonna lose," I admitted. "Guess I had to plan in order to win."

"That was so awesome too!" Ruby beamed. "Can I see that weapon!? Please, please!" No doubt she was mentioning the Medagaburyu.

"Maybe another time Ruby," I promised.

"Aww… you said the same thing with your sword, but I still have yet to try it out.." she pouted with a whimper.

"Still, it's awesome you won dude. Nice job on the combo ideas." Yang complimented.

"I guess so… Though could use more finesse with your ice Semblance." Weiss huffed.

"I'm still new to the ice manipulation you know?" I reminded the heiress. "The armor is one thing but the ice manipulation is different for me. The armor helps enhance it so without it, I honestly suck."

"Just don't use its abilities too much…" Ankh said, gaining my attention, "While you have control over it, those medals are still too dangerous… Use its power too much and you'll gain the Greeedification once more…" He warned before he jabbed my chest. "I suggest you focus on better strategies in that Combo as well as practicing the Cryokinesis Semblance."

"Maybe Weiss can help out with that?" I suggested, turning to the said Heiress.

"Hmph about time you asked me to help you out with your newly found Semblance." She huffed with a smile. "Don't worry. By the next few days, you'll be a pro like any other Schnee!" She giggled, starting to get ahead with herself.

"Thats kinda far, even for you ice queen," Yang commented. "At least the next part of the first round will start in the next hour, gives us lots of time to practice!"

"Don't call me that…" Weiss glared.

"Let's see," Ankh mocked, "Heiress who has glyphs, a cold glare, wears clothings as white as the snow. Eyes similar to ice. What does that equal? An Ice queen."

"Shut it, chicken breath…" Weiss glared, "And don't mock me, when I saw you with Sara you've been neglecting to tell us two about it." She referred to herself and Yang.

"It is none of your business," He glared at the heiress.

"Alright, alright. Let's calm down now. We still have some time, so let's celebrate Enrique's victory. What do you all say?" Akira offered.

I heard my stomach grumble, making me embarrassed, "Food does sound good."

We all went back to the Simple Noodles booth as we took our seats to order our usual food. I used the chopsticks to grab some noodles and began to consume the noodles as I slurp them.

"Gonna chew it or inhale?" Yang chuckled.

When I ate the noodles that I grabbed with the chopsticks, I looked at Yang before swallowing. "I rather enjoy the food." I responded with a shrug.

"I gotta ask, what was it like using that form? You know… that dragon one you used." Jaune asked.

I stopped upon the next bite before lowering the chopsticks. "Well… when I was in that form the first time… it was a scary feeling…" I admitted. "I had no control over what I did… it felt like my mind was a blur as I could literally feel what I attacked…"

"O-Oh.. I'm.. I'm sorry, I didn't meant to bring bad things up…." Jaune apologized.

"It's fine, it's all behind me, besides...," I focused on my Aura to summon the three Purple Core Medals. "Now, it acts as a shield to protect others and a sword to fight against the dark forces like the Greeed, not a berserker that only existed to destroy everything. This new form of power _is_ the embodiment of my soul. The invincible power to protect to the very end."

"The Invincible Combo." Ruby said, giving it a title.

"Yeah… that has a good ring to it!" Yang nodded.

I chuckled, rubbing the back of my head. "Each Combo does have a name so I guess it is right for the Purple Cores to have a title as well." I agreed to the name since it is the name of the Combo.

"Plus it your Semblance is special! Summoning those Cores _and_ manipulating ice!" Ruby added. I blinked, realizing that she has a point. I practically have two abilities in one Semblance. "We have to think of a cool name for them! Any ideas?" she looked at the others.

"You guys don't have to do that, really," I waved off. "It's just a Semblance."

"It's mandatory, Enrique!" Ruby said with excitement.

"Really, you don't have too," I repeated.

"Let him decide if he wants to or not, little red." Akira chuckled, patting Ruby's head as she pouts but nods.

 _[Will Team JNPR please enter the arena? As they were supposed to, 5 minutes ago…]_ Port's voice rang out in annoyance.

"Well it looks like you guy are up," I spoke to Team JNPR. "Good luck."

"Thanks Enrique." Jaune smiled, as his team went out to the arena.

I watched the four head to the tournament while I smiled before I looked at Weiss since she is the only one able to help me fully utilize my Semblance. "So uh, when do I start my practice with my Semblance?" I asked the heiress.

"We can do that once Jaune and his team are done with their match." She said to me. "It's only fair we watch their match since they watched ours."

"True."

* * *

 _[Welcome for the next match of the Vytal Fesitval. Today we have Team JNPR vs Team BRNZ!] Port announced to the audience._

 _[What will we see from these two Teams? Will the winner be JNPR or BRNZ? Each team has a unique diversity, and I'm not saying that due to JNPR's fifth member.] Oobleck added on._

 _Near Jaune's side was Brawnz Ni, the leader of Team BRNZ. He was a young man, with dark purple eyes and short black hair with his hair slicked toward his left wears a top that consists of gradients of gray and purple, scarf, black pants with bronze kneecaps and a dark purple scarf that wraps around his right leg and black boots. His weapon seemed to be gloved claws._

 _Next to him was Roy Stallion. This hunter had green eyes and brown hair styled in cornrow dreadlocks tipped in gold clasps. He wears a green vest buckled closed on his left shoulder, over a black t-shirt and loose white pants rolled up to his knees. He also wears a pair of fingerless gloves with white armor parts that are the holsters for his weapon and olive canvas sneakers. He had a unique weapon, a slim gauntlet with two saws. He was going to be a dangerous opponent._

 _Near by was Nolan Porfirio, and this young hunter had_ _dark red hair and pink eyes. He wears a deep sky blue jacket with a black hood and rolled up black sleeves, open over a white shirt with long, rolled up sleeves. A pair of sunglasses with pink lenses hang from his collar. He also wears a pair of ripped burgundy jeans, black shoes and black finger-less gloves. His weapon seemed to be a normal shock baton._

 _And the final member was May Zedong, this huntress had_ _light tan skin, dusky rose hair and gray-blue eyes. She wears a red and white hoodie with blue tracksuit pants and a distinctive black beanie that covers her left eye. She also wears a large black scarf and red canvas sneakers. And her weapon consisted of a sniper rifle mixed with an ax._

" _Looks we got the short end of the stick huh?" Jaune gulped._

" _It'll be okay Jaune." Pyrrha reassured._

" _R-Right…" he nodded nervously before the four faced their opponents. The arena changed into what seems to be the mountains while there was a forest on the other side. The screen counts down with the right getting prepared._

" _You can win you guys!" Ruby cheered for her friends._

" _Yeah!" Enrique's voice agreed._

" _Stay calm!" Weiss added on._

" _Don't be stupid…" Ankh scoffed._

 _The countdown finished as the two teams charged ahead, clashing, dodging and evading one another as the fight begins. May turns around and heads into the trees, cocking her weapon while in the center field, Brawnz Ni delivered a knee kick to Pyrrha's shield that sends her skidding back, right before she blocks the claws on his fists. She jerks her weapon away and makes him leap back, just as the sniper of Team BRNZ jumps up into the branches of the forest._

 _With Ren, he took a few shots at them but the sniper finally takes aim from her spot and manages to fire off two rounds near Ren, destroying the rocks behind him._

 _Jaune noticed it quickly as he began to panic, "R-Retreat!" He called out, as his team dove behind some boulders._

" _What do we do?" Pyrrha asked her fellow teammate._

 _Jaune looked over the edge of the boulder to see the members of Team BRNZ closing in. "Spread out! Keep moving!" The leader of Team BRNZ ordered, the other three following as Brawnz lands a punch on Jaune's shield._

" _May! Shoot them down!" Brawnz ordered._

 _May gets even higher in the tree and smiles from behind her scope as she looks at the fight below. Brawnz and Pyrrha continue to duke it out while Nolan slowly advances on Ren when he slides into his path. The prod-wielding warrior looks back at the trees and nods to his hidden ally, who shoots at Ren's feet again and makes him jump around trying to dodge them. Just as he lands, Nolan hits him upside the head with his weapon, and is able to miss the retaliatory kick with another blow to the knee and a final hit to the chest using the business end of his prod. Electricity shoots through Ren's body before he collapses to the ground beside his childhood friend._

" _Ren!" Nora called out. She scowled and takes a swing at Nolan who dodges the attack and unleashed his weapon's power into her corset, not knowing the consequences of what he did._

 _[Uh-Oh. Seems Nolan has just used the wrong tactic. Cause due to his weapon he just forced her Semblance to activate.] Port informed._

 _Upon hearing this Nolan now panicked upon what he has just done. Nora flexes her arms as pink lightning was coursing through her body, making Nolan raise his hands in surrender but thunder began to spark from Nora's Aura and rushed towards him. And with one strike, she made a single swing and knocked out of the ring with ease._

 _Seeing this, Jaune looks back at the mountain top, an idea forming in his head. "Nora, get to the mountain!" He advised, the orange-haired spitfire saluted before she rushes up to the mountain. The blonde then looked at his fellow teammate "Ren, try to distract the sniper!"_

 _He nodded, charging ahead while dodging fire, and made it just in time as he dodged under a roundhouse kick from Pyrrha, aiming for Brawnz. He then pointed his weapon at the May before pulling the trigger and sends rains of bullets at her._

* * *

"Yeah! Go get em Jaune!" Ruby cheered.

"Well, he's certainly improved," Weiss noted.

"He is still leagues away from the redhead," Ankh scoffed. "And needs more practice with that weapon if his."

"Come on Ankh, at least he is doing his best," I pointed out.

"I don't care," he glared.

* * *

 _Pyrrha began to take on Brawnz and Roy as she kicked one as she deftly dodges and blocks the incoming disks that were being aimed at her. While Ren was doing his best, May quickly got into a position, aiming her rifle at Nora._

" _Pyrrha, up!" Jaune called out._

 _His partner rushes towards him, dodge rolling to avoid a launched saw until she bounds over Brawnz and lands on Jaune's shield. He manages to throw her into the air with her own shield raised to block the kill-shot aimed at Nora. This gives the redhead just enough time reach the peak, and she lifts her hammer up as a bolt of lightning hits the weapon directly._

 _She changes it back into grenade-launching form and pops the front off to reveal six explosives that shoot out over the field in a heart-shaped formation onto the sniper. The poor girl barely has time to gawk before she leaps over to a nearby tree just as the one she was in goes up in pink flames, leaving only a giant scorch mark billowing smoke to block out the coughing sniper's view. She jumps down from the branches just as her three teammates look up and behind them at Nora coming down on them like a meteor, slamming her hammer into the ground and sending the enemies back at the feet of their disoriented teammate._

" _Alright, I think it's time for some team attacks! Nora, Ren. Flower Power!" Jaune shouted out, only to receive confused looks from the two._

" _Wait, what?" Nora blinked._

" _Uh… you know. 'Flower Power', your team attack with Ren." Jaune said._

" _How would that even work?" Ren asked._

" _Ugh… Ren brings the Flower, and Nora brings the power!"_

" _And.. how would I make a Flower."_

" _So.. where does that put me?" Pyrrha asked, confused._

" _Well its 'Arkos' since we have our shields? Remember?"_

 _Pyrrha was confused to this, "Right, no, I don't get it…"_

" _HEY! We're in the middle of a match right now!" Brawnz shouted to them._

" _And WE'RE in the middle of a conversation. What don't you get?!" Jaune replied_

" _Uh… Jaune? He's talking about 'our' match?" Pyrrha informed as he finally started to hear the booing from the crowd._

" _Ugh…" he sighed before looking at Nora. "Nora, just… hit them with your hammer."_

 _Hearing his order, Nora smirked evilly and looked at Brawnz. "You got it." She accepted._

" _Wait what!?" Brawnz panicked before anyone could expect it, Nora jumps over in front of Team BRNZ and brings her hammer around to collide with the four, sending them straight to the field that surrounds the arena's rim and became unconscious from the attack._

* * *

"Well…. That was a…. 'Unique' ending to their match…" I noted.

"Jaune was too eager to show off his team. Otherwise he would've done better.." Ankh scoffed. "Like I said, he still had a lot to learn through that stupid brain of his."

"At least they won though," I pointed out but I remember wincing from how much force Nora did to the opposing team. That had to hurt, even with the Aura they had.

"Well, another celebration to manage." Ruby smiled, "Where do we eat now?"

"Well…." Akira rubbed the back of his head.

"Don't you dare say that Oden stand. We're having pizza." Weiss said surprisingly.

"Aw…" Akira slumped his shoulders.

I chuckled from seeing this. Akira surely loves to eat Oden. "And speaking of which." Weiss turned to me and pointed at me. "We are about to start the training with yourself learn to fully use your Semblance."

Oh right… I did ask her about that...

"So, meet me in the forest out back Beacon and we'll start." Weiss said, walking off towards the forest.

"Best prepare, Enrique… Her training makes Ankh look soft." Ruby warned.

"Oi," Ankh said irritated.

"Well, make that not as worse as Ankh's," she corrected, making Ankh more irritated.

"It is so he can learn and stand against the Greeed," he pointed at me. "The idiot didn't know _anything_ about combat when I met him."

"Considering the fact he was kept away from troubles back at his home world," Blake argued. Ankh huffed, turning his head away.

"Whatever…"

I sighed, seeing as how Ankh would simply not want to be here in the festival. Then again, he sees the tournament as a place for the Greeed to try and make their move. I got up from my seat and looked and Blake, "Wanna come along?" I offered.

She smiled, taking my arm and nodding, "Of course, I'd love to."

When Blake and I went to see Weiss, Yang looked at the others.

"Is it me or Blake and Enrique have gotten a lot closer than we last seen?" she observed.

"Well they are a couple." Ruby pointed out.

"Sides, with what happened, I wouldn't doubt they got closer." Pyrrha added on.

* * *

Blake and I went to the location Weiss said to met up. The both of those us were now at the forest behind Beacon, in the middle of the clearing while Weiss was across from me while Blake was watching.

I held the Medajalibur with one hand since I have been more accustomed to the fighting style for it.

"Ready to start learning, Enrique?" Weiss asked.

"Ready when you are, Weiss," I smiled. "So… I know you have your Glyphs but how exactly will it help me with my Semblance since it manipulates ice?"

"Begin!" Weiss said, quickly using her Glyph to get in close as she began to incase her weapon in ice before stabbing at me.

I quickly moved back upon the sudden attack. "You didn't answer my question!" I pointed out.

"In order for us to start, we need to test your endurance against it. This way we can get an idea of how much potential you have." She noted, twirling her weapon around before sticking it into the ground, as ice rushed towards me.

I quickly focused on my Semblance to stop the ice but it didn't slow down. I only got used to small manipulating small amounts without the armor. With the armor, it only enhanced it. Seeing the ice coming close, I quickly moved away from the attack and looked at the heiress.

"Dodging isn't the answer!" She shouted sending shards at me. I kept on dodging since I control manipulate much of the ice she was literally throwing at me. When she once again made ice form to my left and right to stop my tracks, I saw she sent another batch of shards right at me.

My eyes widen before I closed my eyes and thrusted my arm out. I didn't feel the ice shards at all, making me open my eyes to see the shards right in front of me, remaining where they were.

"Well… Now this is good progress. Usually, it's suppose to either stop at your feet, or just below your waist." Weiss pointed out, conjuring another set of ice shards. "Again!" She sent them at me, causing me to once again to stop the shards before I moved my hand away to send the shards away before rushing towards Weiss who coated her weapon with ice. She clashed hers against mine as the ice began to travel through her weapon, and onto my weapon, rushing towards my hands.

I had to keep focus on not just my opponent but also the ice since my Semblance is not only the Purple Core Medals but also manipulating the ice. Remembering how Pyrrha used her polarity, I quickly realized that it was similar to her but with ice. Realizing this, I focused on my Semblance once more before causing the ice on Weiss's weapon to move away from my blade.

"My…. You're getting a good grip on it…" She noted, backing off, "Only one last test then we can start with your full control. But this one… is kinda risky…"

"Eh?" I blinked, confused but now nervous if she said this was a risky one.

"In order to truly see how much control and power you have with your ice…. I need to incase you in it." She admitted.

"Woah, woah! Are you serious!?" I gawked, while Blake was nervous about this.

"It's the only way. If we don't do this, all you will be able to do is misdirect or force it away. But it won't last…." She turned away, "Sooner or later it'll overtake you and all you'll be able to do is force into either shards or in a direction…."

"I-Is there any other method that will help me?" I asked.

"No… there is no other way…."

I swallowed the lump in my throat as I was now nervous. If I were to have full use of my Semblance, being encased in case was one of the only methods to do. But also risking the chance of myself dying from frostbite. Either have better control or no control of the ice.

"Ready?" She asked, nervously.

I looked at Blake then at Weiss, "R-Ready." I closed my eyes shut, ready for what she was about to bring.

* * *

 _Weiss summoned a large glyph under Enrique, waving her hands around before walking up to him. Once close she took a deep breath before placing her hand on his chest. Ice began to pour out from her hand, slowly encasing him in a large clump of ice. In seconds Enrique was fully encased in ice as she stepped back._

 _Blake quickly stood up upon seeing this but Weiss stopped her. "Weiss-"_

" _Just watch… hopefully…" she responded. "Believe in him…."_

 _Blake was worried as she looks at the frozen block of ice. For Weiss, she was slowly beginning to panic as seconds began to pass, the inner feeling of guilt slowly growing by the second. 'Come on…' she pleaded in thought. If this doesn't work, Blake will surely be devastated and very upset at her for the rest of her life._

" _N-Nothing's happening!" Blake said, her worry growing more._

" _He just needs time!" Weiss argued, trying to do this for him._

" _You said that a minute ago, Weiss!" The Faunus argued. "Get rid of the ice!"_

" _If I do it now, he'll lose his ice manipulation completely!" Weiss shouted. "I'm doing this for him, Blake. To help him out."_

 _Blake was about to argue once more until the cat ears under her bow heard a faint crack, making her look at the ice. Weiss was wondering as well until she too heard the sound but much louder for her to hear. The two beginning to take notice of more and more cracks forming on the ice._

* * *

In seconds I snapped out of the ice that encased me as I panted and stepped out before falling on all fours to catch my breath. But upon doing so… I felt so… light. As if my body was heavy from before. I looked up to see Weiss and Blake, though both had looks of relief and seemed slightly scared.

"You almost scared us, Enrique!" Weiss sighed.

"Just… don't think of an idea… like that… again…" I said through each breath. I looked at the ice that were in pieces before I stood back up and decided focused my Semblance one more time. This time, I focused on the pieces of ice on the ground. They shook slightly before they floated and began to form a small block of ice on the palm of my hand. "Hehe," I chuckled before tossing the ice to the wall and manipulated it into a spike, piercing through the tree.

"Looks like you're getting the hang of it." Weiss smirked.

"Except the fact that I almost suffered frostbite from that idea of yours."

"I'm sorry…" She said softly, her head lowered. "I… was just trying to help my friend…."

"Hey, it's okay," I assured. "Besides, you helped me out with getting better with my Semblance. Eventually I will have more use with it without the armor."

She looked up and gained a soft smile, "Well… I am a Schnee after all. It's my duty to help those." She said, walking off.

I chuckled, "Guess Winter was right about you."

I noticed Weiss stopped the moment I said the name before turning around to look at me. "Wait, say that again?"

"Was right about you?"

"No before that."

"Winter?" I answered.

Before I can expect it, the heiress got hold of the collar of my jacket and began to shake me. "She's here?! Where!?" She asked.

"I don't know," I said through the shaking. "I only met her when we had to go after those twin Yummies."

She stopped shaking me, finally letting me go but I was dizzy from the shaking. "Oh… W-Well… we should get going then. The others are waiting for us." She said before turning her hell and walked away.

"Yeah… right…" I responded dizzily before I fell back.

"You okay?" Blake asked.

"Peachy…" I responded before sitting up and shook my head to clear my senses before standing up. "Wait for us, Weiss!"

"Then hurry up already!" She responded.

Blake and I rushed after the heiress so we can meet up with the others. I can't wait for the second round of the tournament. Thanks to Weiss, I have better manipulation of the ice with my Semblance. Hopefully I will be able to master it like the others have with their Semblances.

* * *

 **Blazing: Taka (x1), Kujaku (x1), Condor (x1)**

 **Scorching: Lion (x1), Tora (x2), Cheetah (x1)**

 **Strongest: Kuwagata (x1), Kamakiri (x1), Batta (x1)**

 **Legendary: Kobura (x1), Kame (x1), Wani (x1)**

 **Water: Shachi (x1), Tako (x1), Unagi (x1)**

 **Gravity: Sai (x1), Gorilla (x1), Zou (x2)**

 **Invincible: Ptera (x1), Tricera (x1), Tyranno (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"Winter!" She called out.

" _We simply have to get him to join," Cinder informed._

"So you are the guy who beated Team JSMN," My opponent noted.

 **Next Time:** Family Reunion, Schemes, Double Round

* * *

 **A/N:** That is it for this chapter folks! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and the team name for our Rider. I want to thank striberx for lending me some OCs that our Rider fought against. You guys are welcome to submit your Team OCs on my story for the Double Round. Just PM for further details and such. And as for my Ex-Aid story of the OC being Brave, I am still deciding, so please be patient because the story won't be published until the week after Neko-Con Anime Convention that I am going to. and as for my next update of my other stories, they _will_ be updated soon, possibly by next week or so.

Look forward to my upcoming stories and I will see you all in the next chapter. Stay in the shadows everyone!


	33. Chapter 32: Double Round, Family Reunion

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 32nd chapter of OOO! I am glad you all enjoyed the previous chapter with the Team Match of Team Infinite! Plus, yesterday I was celebrating my birthday so I enjoyed my fun and it was fun! Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc.).

Don't forget to check out my other stories as well.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _In an Atlesian military ship, the child form of Lost Ankh was reading a book the older woman gave him. The book he was reading were on tactics and strategies of combat. He found the subject fascinating and was completely absorbed with the book's contents. There was so much he did not know, so much he wanted to know, to fill up a void left by losing a part of himself. He needed a way to find himself._

 _He heard the door slide open, revealing the one and only Winter who had a small smile gracing her lips upon seeing the young boy, completely unaware of who he really is. "How is your reading?" She asked softly._

 _Ever since she took him in, she somewhat developed a side she never thought to express to the child. It was something about the child when she first met him. He looked confused… lost, even asking her who he is?_

 _She never forget the times he asks and she quote 'Where is me?'. It was somewhat disturbing at first but as those days passed, she realized he was searching for something that shows who he is._

 _But now, he has learned fairly quickly thanks to her. She assumes he is a fast learner. Kinda like a baby bird learning how to fly, even learning where to go and what to do._

" _It's… helpful…" he admitted quietly. "It helps me…" he raised his head to the young woman. "Did you… find me…?"_

 _Her expression soften. While she may be an Atlas Soldier devoted for the military, she developed a care for the child… "I haven't."_

" _Oh…" he muttered, lowering his head. He suddenly felt her hand gently patting his head. It was something he… liked..._

 _The woman was being so gentle to him… so helpful… he never thought to experience such actions from her. This woman was helping him find 'himself'. She gave him a 'nest' to stay in. Even reading the so-called books that gave him such knowledge of his surroundings._

" _Don't worry, I will help you find what you are looking for," She reassured, a small yet soft smile formed on her lips._

 _The child-disguised Bird Greeed raised his head to see her smile before he nodded in understanding. He understands that he has to be patient. Time is what allows the person to plan, to strategize… to strike. With the books, he will be able to fully understand what to do._

 _He will learn to fight and retrieve himself._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 32: Family Reunion, Schemes, Double Round**

As Weiss, Blake, and I joined the others as they were all gathered by the pizzeria as our friends were gathered while eating pizza while Akira ate his usual meal and Ankh eating ice cream. As we got closer, Ruby took notice of our approach.

"You're back!" She beamed. "How did the training with your Semblance go?"

"I'm getting the hang of it," I smiled as I conjured ice in my hand. "I'll master it eventually."

"That's awesome!" Ruby said excitingly. "Maybe you can learn how to use the ice to form weapons!"

I blinked, from her suggestions. "That's… actually not a bad idea, Ruby," I commented. "Maybe when I adjust to my Semblance more, I can try it out."

"Oh! Maybe you can make an ice grenade launcher?!" Nora grinned, "It'll bring the _whole_ look for you together."

"I don't know about that," I chuckled nervously. "I think I'll go with Ruby's suggestion about the standard bladed weapons."

"Aw boo," Nora pouted.

"Don't give him ideas that won't work for him, Nora." Ren advised.

"I thought they were good ideas," she crossed her arms.

The rest of us laughed before I glanced at Weiss who took notice of something. Following her line of sight which was the sky was an airship. "Know something about that Weiss?" I asked.

"She's here…." Weiss smiled softly, quickly getting up and rushing off towards the airship bay.

We all looked at each other before Ruby and I decided to follow Weiss. As we rushed to where she was heading and saw she seemed genuinely happy. "Who's here Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"Winter…." Weiss replied softly.

"Wait your sister?" I realized. I looked at the airship that was landing and when the doors opened up, there was Winter as some robots were with her as well.

"Winter!" Weiss called out.

The elder Schnee took notice of her sister, as she along with Ruby and I, made our way towards her ship. "Weiss…" she acknowledged. She turns to Ruby and me, getting a good look at Ruby before looking back at her, "Your… friends I take it?"

"Of course," The younger Schnee smiled.

"I see…" Winter's expression not changing from what seemed to be of boredom and disappointment, "It has been a long time since I was last in Beacon…. The air feels… different from before….."

"Well, it is fall, so it is a bit colder…." Ruby muttered to herself, only for Weiss to give her a quick strike against the shoulder.

"S-So, Winter! What brings you out here? I thought you said, you would be viewing this back at home?"

"Classified for the main reason."

"O-Oh…"

I chuckled softly upon seeing this. Weiss was trying to act all humble and like any little sister would to their elder sibling.

She then turned around at her robots, "Leave us…" They nodded in response, backing up from her and continuing their tasks, "So… how have you been?"

"Splendid thanks for asking. I'm actually the top of my team in sparring, as well as some of the classes. I've also-"

Winter cuts her off by slapping Weiss on her head, leaving behind a massive bump on her head. "Silence, yourself. I don't recall asking about your _ranking,_ I'm asking how have you've _been._ Are you eating properly? Have you taken up any hobbies? Are you making new friends?"

"Well, there's Ruby and Enrique here.." She gestures to us.

"Hey Winter," I smiled. "Been awhile since we last met."

"Yes it has been. Thank you for taking care of my sister and her… 'troubles'." Winter nodded to me.

Weiss though was surprised, "Wait, you two met before?"

"We have, at a cafe," Winter replied.

"O-Oh!" She chuckled softly, glaring at me as if I didn't tell her this.

"I did tell you I met her, didn't I?" I told Weiss with my hands raised.

"But you never mentioned you and her were at a cafe." Her glared grew.

"I didn't think it mattered….?" I responded with a slight shrug.

Weiss turned to Winter, "Let me show you around Beacon so you can get acquainted."

"I'll also need to expect your quarters"

"O-Okay…"

When they left, I chuckled. "Guess she's different when Winter is around her." I looked at Ruby. "Wanna go see if they have any snacks at the booths?" I offered.

"Sure!" She beamed before the both of us went to the snack booths.

* * *

 _W_ _eiss, Winter, and the androids were walking towards the courtyard to head into Beacon. Weiss was anxious about what to tell her sister. It has been a while since she last talked to her. But as they continue to walk, sounds of androids being ripped apart could be hard before the discard remains of one of them lands next to them._

 _What stood there was a middle aged man, he had a_ _spiky hair and donned a cloak, with predominantly dark or black clothing. He has graying black, spiky hair, red eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline. With a red, tattered cloak, he wears a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. He also wears a ring on his right index finger, two other rings on his right fourth finger, and a necklace with a crooked cross-shaped pendant._

" _Hey!" The man said, almost drunken like as he tosses the decapitated machine aside, "Finally, I got your attention, Ice Queen…"_

 _As one of the automated soldiers advances with the rifle raised, Winter stopped it. "Halt!"_

 _Weiss on the other hand angrily walks up to the offender's face. "Excuse me! Do you have any idea who you are talking to!?" She demanded._

 _The man pushed her out of his way as he moves forwards. "Not you."_

" _Hey!"_

 _The supposed drunk looks at the irritated Winter, "You." He clarifies. "I saw that gaudy ship of yours in town. I guess you're here too."_

" _I'm standing right before you," Winter frowned in irritation._

 _The drunk squints through his hazy state of mind. "So it would seem."_

" _You realize you just destroyed Atlas Military property."_

" _Oh, oh i'm sorry." He sarcastically apologizes. "See, I mistook this for some sort of… sentient garbage."_

" _I don't have time for your immature games, Qrow."_

" _Qrow? You know him?" Weiss looked at her sister._

" _Geez, you Atlas Specialists think you're so special, don't you?" The now named man mocked._

" _It's in the title."_

" _Well, you know what you really are?" He questioned. "A bunch of sellouts. Just like your boss."_

" _I'm not sure, what you think you're implying. But I've heard enough." She said to him._

" _Oh I've heard too. I've heard ol' Ironwoods finally turned his back on Ozpin." He replied._

 _Hearing the headmaster's name, this made Weiss confused, "Ozpin?"_

 _Her older sister shoves her aside, not wanting her to get close. "Weiss, it's time for you to go."_

" _What-"_

" _Listen to your big sister, Weiss. She'll protect you." He looked at Winter. "Just like Atlas is going to protect all of us, huh? Just like when they 'protected' everyone against the Grimm and those weird animals."_

 _Winter gritted her teeth as she draws her sword. "If you won't hold your tongue, then I will gladly remove it for you!_

" _Alright then…" He smirked, running his hand through his hair as it's pushed back. "Come take it…." He taunted._

 _Winter charges at Qrow, starting the fight as the two were spinning and trading blows until Ruby enters the crowd upon seeing what was going on. "What's going on!?" She asked her partner._

" _Some crazy guy just started attacking my sister!"_

 _Ruby gasped, "Oh no! Who would do such a th-" She turned her head to the fight, only to realize who the man was. "That is my uncle!"_

" _What?!"_

" _Kick her butt, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby cheered for him._

 _Weiss blinked before gritting her teeth, "Teach him respect, Winter!" She cheered for her._

 _From afar, as the battle went on, Mercury walked by, only to stop for a moment, his eyes widen before he begins to run off towards the dorms._

 _Qrow and Winter's battle raged on, the two clashing blades with one another, with Winter running up top as Qrow shoots at her, to Winter using a new form of their families Semblance to spawn energy constructed Nevermores at him, luckily he cut them down easily. The fight coming to a close, Winter propels herself forward, screaming in rage and preparing a thrust towards Qrow._

" _SCHNEE!" A voice boomed._

 _Winter stops her blade's point mere inches away from Qrow's neck. She looks behind her to see General Ironwood standing behind her, with Penny Polendina behind him. Seeing the general made her lower her blade as she addresses Ironwood, "General Ironwood, sir!"_

 _Ironwood approaches Winter with Penny by his side, "What in the world do you think you're doing?"_

"He started the altercation, sir!" She answered.

 _Qrow puts his hands behind his head in a relaxed stance. "That's actually not true. She attacked first." He said._

 _Ironwood looked at Qrow then at Winter. "Is that right?" Winter searches for words, only to realize Qrow is right. She looks down in shame. "And you." Qrow points to himself in mock confusion. "What are you doing here?"_

" _I could be asking you the same thing."_

" _I-"_

" _Now, now, everyone," They saw Ozpin intervening with Glynda Goodwitch standing by him. "There is a sanctioned fight happening just around the corner at the Colosseum, that I can assure you has better seats... and popcorn."_

" _Break it up, everyone! We will take care of this mess." Glynda ordered._

" _Let's go."_

 _As Ironwood and Winter leave, Penny notices Ruby and quietly waves to her, while Ruby waves back. Ruby then leaps giddily onto Qrow's arm, shaking her legs in delight._

" _Uncle Qrow!" Ruby beamed , hanging on Qrow's outstretched arm. "Hi. It's so good to see you! Did you miss me? Did you miss me!?"_

" _Nope," he grinned before patting her head._

" _Qrow!" Ozpin called out, the Huntsman turning to look at the headmaster as Ruby gets dropped. "A word, please." Goodwitch then repairs the courtyard using her telekinesis._

" _I think I'm in trouble," Qrow said to her niece discreetly._

" _You did kinda tear up our courtyard." Ruby giggled._

" _Yeah, I did," he winks and gives her a fist bump. "Catch ya later, kid."_

 _He walks off to join the others before Weiss walks up beside Ruby, arms crossed. "And suddenly, your recklessness makes sense." She observed._

 _Ruby nudges Weiss' shoulder, "You're just mad because he whooped butt."_

" _That was a draw, at best!" The heiress argued._

 _Ruby's grin says otherwise._

 _After a while night began as Ironwood was waiting with his arms crossed while Winter is impatiently pacing about. Suddenly, a smirking Qrow, accompanied by Goodwitch and Ozpin, arrive in the elevator._

" _What were you thinking!?"_

" _If you were one of my men, I would have you shot!" Ironwood added._

 _Qrow pulls out flask as the three enter the room, "If I was one of your men, I'd shoot myself."_

" _While I wouldn't condone his behavior, retaliating like you did certainly didn't help the situation." Goodwitch responded._

" _He was drunk!" Winter argued._

" _He's always drunk!" She replied before the four turn to Qrow to see him drinking from a flask. His eyes widen when he notices them staring, and he holds the flask out to the side, looking at it awkwardly before grimacing._

" _Qrow, why are you here?" asked Ozpin._

" _You've been out of contact for weeks! You can't just go dark like that in the field!" Ironwood added._

" _I'm not one of your special operatives, Jimmy!"_

" _General." Winter corrected._

" _Whatever," he huffed. "You sent me to get intel on our enemy, and I'm telling you, our enemy is here."_

 _Ironwood leans against Ozpin's desk, "We know."_

" _Oh! Oh, you know! Well, thank goodness I'm out there risking my life to keep you all informed!"_

" _Qrow-"_

" _Communication's a two-way street, pal. You see this," Qrow interrupted the general, pulling out his Scroll and points to it. "That's the SEND button."_

 _They had reason to assume you'd been compromised," The older Schnee assumed._

" _And I have reason to assume you don't need to be here," He looks at Winter for a moment before pointing at her. "Seriously, who invited her?"_

 _After a moment of silence, Ironwood speaks up without looking at her. "Schnee, we'll discuss this incident back at my ship."_

" _But sir!"_

" _Winter. Leave." He strictly ordered._

" _Yes sir," she salutes before she turns on her heel and gives the winking Qrow a dirty look as she exits via the elevator._

 _Ironwood gestures Qrow to continue, "Go on."_

" _Your little infiltrator isn't just another pawn. They're the one responsible for Autumn's condition," he continued before he takes a drink from his flask once more._

" _What?" Goodwitch asked._

" _Despite what the world thinks, we're not just teachers, or generals, or headmasters. The people in this room, the leaders of the other two academies, we're the ones that keep the world safe from the evils no one even knows about!" The huntsman got up in Ironwood's face. "It's why we meet behind closed doors, why we work in the shadows. So you tell me, James, when you brought your army to Vale, did you think you were being discreet, or did you just not give a damn!"_

 _Ironwood stares down at Qrow as he places his Scroll on Ozpin's desk. "Discreet wasn't working." the center of the room projects a hologram of Vale, Beacon Academy, the Amity Colosseum and Ironwood's fleet of Atlesian Airships, which he gestures to" I'm here because this is what was necessary."_

" _You're here because Ozpin wanted you here! He made you a part of this inner circle and opened your eyes to the real fight that's in front of us!"_

" _And I am grateful."_

" _Oh, well, you've got a real funny way of showing it," Qrow retorted._

" _The people of Vale needed someone to protect them; someone who would act." Ironwood stated. "When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies will feel our strength._

 _Qrow starts laughing over Ironwood's statement. "You... You think they're scared of your little ships? I've been out there and I've seen the things she's made, and let me tell you - they are fear."_

" _And fear will bring the Grimm. A guardian is a symbol of comfort. But an army is a symbol of conflict. There's an energy in the air now, a question in the back of everyone's minds…" The Headmaster of Beacon gestures to the display. "If this is the size of our defenses, then what is it we're expecting to fight?"_

 _The general glares at them before sighing and walking forward, picking up his Scroll just as it flashes with the image of a Black Queen. "So then, what would you suggest we do?" He asked._

 _Ozpin was quiet for a moment before finally saying, "I suggest we find our guardian."_

* * *

Lost Ankh was spending his time by watching the replay of the first few matches of the first round of the Vytal Tournament. He watched the matches with detached interest. It wasn't until he saw Team Infinity onscreen that he really paid attention.

"OOO..."

His palm rested on the television screen as his eyes narrowed while watching the match.

Laid open around him were more books on history and culture. There was so much to learn. What interested him most was the history of warfare. It gave him such knowledge of what to do in combat, even watching the replays of the matches that Winter recorded helped him learn.

He was _learning_ to be a better fighter. But he has to learn more if he were to get himself back…

Hearing footsteps approaching the door, he saw Winter enter the room with a somewhat irritated look. Did something happen for her to be like that?

"Is something… wrong?" He asked her.

Hearing his voice, Winter turned her head to see the child's confused look. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this. Just an old 'friend' came by" she responded but she hated Qrow.

Lost Ankh blinked before he stood up and approached her. He slowly raised his hand before patting her head, making her confused.

"You… do this to… cheer me up…" he explained. "Does it… help you…?"

"Why, yes it does little one." She nodded.

Lost Ankh slowly moved away before he walked back to the TV and began to replay the footage of the matches again as he reads more books.

Winter watches the young boy dwell into the learning of combat. Who knew he has a big interest in the history and the ways of tactics, strategy, and combat? ' _He might become a fine soldier…'_ she smiled unknowingly.

What she didn't know was that Lost Ankh _is_ learning how to fight…

To fight better and take back himself.

* * *

 _As the night continues, Mercury was sitting in a chair as he reported to Cinder about who he saw earlier. Cinder was walking back and forth in front of him with Emerald on the bed. "And you're sure?" Cinder asked._

" _Bad hair, used a scythe, and smelled like my dad after a long day," He described. "It was him."_

" _What do we do?" Emerald asked._

 _Cinder turned to Emerald before answering, "Nothing. We stay the course. They have no idea who we are, so we have no reason to worry. Besides, the last of the heavy lifting is being taken care of thanks to our clever friend.." She walked over to the desk and picks up her Scroll as it flashes an image of a chess piece, a Black Queen piece. "Speaking of which… it appears we have a new access point."_

" _Anywhere good?"_

" _You could say that." The maiden grinned. "Go to your rooms. I'll prepare everything tomorrow."_

" _What about that OOO guy?" Mercury asked._

 _Cinder simply kept her grin as she looked over the footage of the fight against Team JSMN. Oh how much power he has… it simply made her desire grow, wanting to get him to join her side before the final phase. "We simply have to get him to join," she said._

" _But… how?" Emerald asked nervously. "That OOO guy is not gonna simply accept and the fact that the Bird Greeed watches over him like a hawk, even from afar. Not to mention we have that oden eater and the ex-Fang girl."_

" _You leave that to me…." Cinder said._

* * *

The next day came as the first match of the Double round will be happening in the next few hours. Right now I was with Akira who was eating his meal of Oden.

"How much did you eat so far, Akira?" I asked, seeing him consuming it all.

"Hmm…. 10 pounds?" He noted.

I sweatdropped upon hearing his answer. Akira was always the somewhat strange man, just like in the show. However my thoughts were interrupted when someone spoke up,

"I remember how the doctor eats oden like it is his salvation," The voice of a man as the both of us turned around as we saw a man approached Akira. He has spiky hair and donned a cloak, with predominantly dark or black clothing. He has graying black, spiky hair, red eyes, and slight stubble along his jawline. With a red, tattered cloak, he wears a gray dress shirt with a long tail, black dress pants, and black dress shoes. He also wears a ring on his right index finger, two other rings on his right fourth finger, and a necklace with a crooked cross-shaped pendant. Even more I can smell the faint signs of alcohol.

"Funny, I recall a crow drinking his latest booze. I didn't expect his drunken ass to fly all the way here," Akira said with a chuckle as he stood up from his stool.

I looked between the two until they laughed and got hold of their wrists. "Been a long while, Qrow." Akira said.

"Same here Akira," his friend chuckled.

"I see you still drink that stuff, you know it will kill you sooner or later," The Rider pointed out.

"That will be the day when I see myself relaxing on an island in Vacuo with beautiful women."

I sweatdropped upon seeing the two. Guess Ruby wasn't kidding about Akira knowing their parents and uncle so well. "So how _did_ you meet Akira?" I asked Ruby's uncle.

"I met the doc here when the team and I saw him looking for the last can of oden during the first year at Beacon. He even said and I quote 'Oden is what I eat day and night no matter the situation'" Qrow jabbed a thumb to Akira. "I'm surprised that stuff still hasn't fatten you up." He then glanced at the weapons on his wrists and holster. "Guess your vacation is over?"

"Meh, I had my fun. Gotta help Enrique here since the Kougami Foundation hired me." Akira smiled, patting my shoulder.

Ruby's uncle stared at me with a critical look as if he was staring right into my soul. It was actually making me nervous and also wondering why he is looking at me like that. Did I do something wrong?

"So… this kid has the Multi-King's power… Seems to me, he's taking more than he can chew." Qrow noted.

I gulped, "S-Somewhat…"

"Say… where's Anko?" Akira noticed, looking around since he was with us earlier before he approached a tree and punched it. It shook a bit before branches broke and there was Ankh as his treat fell on top of him.

The Bird Greeed quickly got up and adjusted his jacket before getting his treat off of him. Once he did, he glared menacingly at Akira.

"What the hell!? I was in the middle of eating my snack!" Ankh barked at Akira.

"Qrow, meet our friend Anko," Akira smiled.

"It's Ankh, you dumbass!" Ankh growled.

"Hmph. Seems like some punk if you ask me…" He scoffed.

"Hey!" Ankh glared at Qrow. "You watch your words or I'll kick your ass!" He threatened.

"Heh, with that pea sized brains of yours, I'm surprised you can talk." He smirked.

Ankh's eye twitched and his greeed arm formed. Oh boy, when that happens, it shows that he is beyond _pissed._ "YOU DRUNK BASTARD!" He roared as he rushed towards Qrow.

Qrow just smirked, dodging every swipe from Ankh, along with parrying him easily.

"Woah, Ankh! Calm down!" I pulled him away as he tries to make me let him go. "Sorry about that, Qrow, it how he is."

"Oi!" Ankh glared at me.

"Heh, it's alright. I wanted to see what he can do and I saw what I needed." Qrow said, taking a quick swig. "Guess he isn't all talk after all. I know I'll die should we ever _truly_ fought."

Ankh pried my arms off of him before adjusting` his coat. "Be lucky I wasn't in my real body you drunk human." He glared. "I would have burned you alive the next time you upset me."

"Yeah, yeah…" Qrow waved off, "Just try and do your best and teach these kids properly alright? They're the next generation of Huntsmen and Huntresses that will do their best to change the world."

"Whatever…" He huffed before shoving Qrow aside as he walked away.

"Well, isn't he a bundle of fun?" Qrow turned to Akira, taking one more swig.

"You'll get used to it," He waved off.

I sighed before looking at Qrow. "So… how did you know about the Multi-King's power I mean…" I looked around and saw no one. "He nearly changed the fate of the Kingdoms that they had to remove anything involving him. Other than Ozpin who knows about the history of the Multi-King or that masked woman from before…."

"I've done my research kid. Plus with the texts from Ruby here and there, it was easy to figure out it was you." Qrow explained. "Sides, there's only that kind of power in this world that could do all of that."

"Oh…"

"Speaking of which, I heard from Ruby that you are in the tournament as well."

"Uh, yeah," I confirmed with a nod. "I won the first part of the match. Ruby and her team passed as well, going to the Double Round."

"Heh, gotta admit. The way you handle the match, I was curious on what you would do." Qrow took another swig of his flask, "But try to remember. That power of yours is fueled by Desire. The more you have and use, the more powerful that suit can be,"

"Ma, ma," Akira patted my head. "Enrique won't end up like that guy for sure. He barely has any desires. Only a sense to help people." He then took the flask Qrow was gonna drink. "And seriously, you gotta lay off on this stuff, Qrow." He tilted the flash, pouring the stuff into the ground.

"Says the same to you and your lousy taste in food." Qrow said, swiping the oden and poured it in the trash, a playful smirk on his face.

"My oden!" Akira cried out as he was on his knees in defeat.

"See ya later kid." Qrow patted my shoulder, "And do your best to become something better than the Multi-King…" He said before walking away.

I watched him walk away before looking at Akira. "Uh… are you okay?"

"My Oden…"

I sweatdropped before I patted his back. "I'm sure they have more at the noodle booth."

Before I expect it, he stood up. "You're right! See us later!" He dashed off with the milk tank and headed back to the noodle booth.

"Wow, guess it makes him hyped up for more Oden…" I observed before I heard my stomach growl. "Guess I should eat too."

I walked over to a booth that sold sushi and got myself a small tray of it and began to eat, favoring the taste of the rice, fish, and meat.

"So you are the guy that beat Team JSMN," I blinked before turning around and greeted with a teen who looks to be the two years younger than me. He has short, black hair, emerald green eyes and on the tanned side with a bit of a rugged look to him. He was wearing a black suit with an overcoat on it. On his wrists seems to be gauntlets.

With the young man was a girl who is the same age as him with long bonded braid hair, blue eyes, fair skinned and on the buxom side. She is wearing a Victorian era clothing top with the corset and black gloves concealing her arms, with a long black combat dress with a cut on the side and wears black shorts underneath her dress as well. I also noticed folded fans on her sides.

"Uh… yeah?" I replied. "Can I help you?"

The rugged man smiled. "Ah my apologies." As he and the blonde woman bowed a bit in respect to him. "My name is Carter Fields, Leader and member of Team CART, and this here is my fellow member and second in command Amelia Green."

Amelia smiled warmly at him. "It will be an honor and quite a challenge to face someone like you in the Double Rounds, sole member of Team Infinite."

I blinked a bit in surprise, they seem like a nice lot so far. "Well… I'm technically not by myself if you count the Gata Clones that helped me." I said.

Carter shrugged a bit. " A fair point there Enrique." Then his expression became more serious and calmer now. "But that was not the point I was trying to make."

"Huh?" I blinked in confusion.

He then waved his hands around as if the whole place was a grand stage to him, which it can be considered that. "What I mean to say is despite the fact that you do have the power to self multiply, and from what I seen in the match, manipulation of ice and gravity as well as some various abilities. You are still a single man on a team." He then narrowed his eyes. "You have power within you Enrique and yet you are also carrying a burden by yourself as well. Such power and isolation is never kind on the mind, soon the people that find themselves with such power either become monsters." He said ominously which made me shudder as I remembered my Greeedification. "Or they drown in their own despair and self-loathing...that is why I worry for you."

"That is what one of my friends told me before," I placed down my drink. "And to be honest… power isn't everything."

"Oh?" Amelia hummed out.

"I reach out to people, helping them see that having more isn't what they need," I stare at my reflection in my drink. "To show them that they should cherish with what they have now instead of having more… to stop them from making a mistake and make their life miserable or ruined…" I took a sip before setting it down again. "If I don't reach out… it makes me wish I were dead. I reach out because all I want to do is help people, especially those around me."

Amelia then smiled kindly at me, as did Carter, then she spoke up for the first time. "You may have found the purpose to using your powers for the good of all." SHe said brightly but then frowned a bit. "But you are still one man, and they say at the top the peak is the loneliest place to be."

Then she grabbed Carter's arm as the man smiled softly at her. "I found myself with good friends back in the slums of Mistral. And before I knew it the way that I saw life no longer became as dark." Then she smiled coyly at me. "The only way I was able to deal with it is because i had a special someone, I am assuming it is also the same for you as well?"

I smiled, "There is someone." Memories of my time with Blake. "I understand her for who she is. We both understand the pain… growing up without those who care about you… trying to survive and stay strong…" I looked at the locket in my hand as my smile grew of the memory of seeing my family when I nearly became a Greeed. "But deep down, you know they are still watching over you from the great beyond…"

Carter noticed the locket and smiled sympathetically and much to my surprise he too, pulled out a...picture out of his chest pocket and then showed it to me. I could see the picture of stern looking white haired Priest in a similar suit to Carter with a frown but upturned a bit near the end. And I saw a bunch of other kids crowding around him all smiling, cheering, laughing, and having fun. With a brunette woman with a nun's gab yet surprisingly wore a fedora.

The same hat that Carter was wearing and yet burnt near the end as well. "Father Crossby and Sister Elena did right by me as I grew up." Carter spoke but now with a tone of melancholy. "White Fang Terrorist attack went out of control and a fire bomb hit the orphanage." He said somberly. "Was outside at the time with the rest of the kids save for the ones that were too sick to go outside, ran back to help them, almost died but Sister Elena saved me and the others, lived to be a protector since then."

My eyes soften. So he understood what it was like losing those close…

Carter places the photo away before looking at me. "I look forward to our fight."

I chuckled, "You two can count on it."

Amelia smiled at me then got really close and whispered. "Don't you dare insult us by not fighting us seriously, because we will not grow we don't get a challenge out of it."

"Stay true to your bonds and prepare for pain in the future. I sense a storm coming, and it may not be nice to any of us. And…" Carter looks conflicted but pressed on. "Sometimes bonds break and we are left with no answers, I dearly hope you do not have to go through such a thing." He muttered before he tilted his hat in my direction then Amelia bowed once more and the two left.

When they were gone, I finally let out a breath of relief. I looked at the O-Driver again before I placed it back in my pocket.

* * *

After another hour, the Double Round has finally started as I was already in my GataKiriBa armor. We first watched the match of Coco and Yatsuhashi versus Emerald and Mercury. We were though a bit late getting to our seats, and upon reaching them, the match was over quickly… Coco and Yatsuhashi lost to Emerald and Mercury. It was shocking to say the least that two seconds year were defeated by first years.

I even noticed Ankh narrowed his eyes at Emerald and Mercury. Was there something he saw that others wouldn't notice? He did have the vision to a hawk, being one of the three representations of his Greeed motif.

Eventually, we all got to watch Yang and Weiss fight against two people from Atlas. One being a Faunus while the other being a young man who wore classy clothing. At first, it started difficult until Weiss gave Yang the chance and defeated the two, letting Team RWBY go into the final match.

Now, we all watched the rosters go through for the final match of the Double Round displayed none other than Carter and Amelia of Team CART. The second half rolled.

"Nervous?" Blake asked.

"A little…" I sighed. "I just hope I am not the first..." I saw the roster slowed down to reveal myself in the armor and my team name. "One… oh great..."

 _[Carter and Amelia of Haven, versus Enrique of Beacon!]_

"Karmas a bitch isn't it?" Ankh huffed until Blake glared at him to which he ignores.

I sighed before looking at the Medal book. I pondered before grabbing Kobura, Kame, and Wani and Taka, Tora, and Batta. But just in case, I also grabbed Sai Gorilla, and Zou. "Alright, got the set we need." I handed BuraKaWani to my Clone as the both of us approached the arena.

There my copy and I saw the two as they had their weapons. "Guess we are fighting, huh?" I sighed.

Carter nodded. "Indeed we are Enrique, I do hope to push you to your limits and beyond." Then he grinned. "Not to mention I have always desired to face a wild card such as yourself. Me and my team are pretty high up in the roster and we are no pushovers do not underestimate us just because you beat a pretty handy team."

"Uh… should we worry boss?" The Gata Clone asked, jabbing his thumb to the two.

"How should I know?" I muttered before replacing our respective GataKiriBa Cores and placed in the ones to use.

 **TAKA! TORA!** **BATTA! TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

 **KOBURA! KAME! WANI! BURAKA~WANI!**

The crests aligned as our respective Combos formed as my clone was now in the Legendary Combo with myself in my normal armor of the TaToBa. The claws unfolded and got into the signature stance while BuraKaWani got into a stance meant for martial arts.

"BuraKaWani, you handle Carter." I ordered.

"Right back at ya, boss." He nodded as the both of us face our respective opponents.

Carter smirked as he pulled out submachine guns from his coat and Amelia pulled out...fans? Carter evidently noticed my reaction, seeing through my lenses and smirked at me. "Do not underestimate her! There's a reason why she became my Second in Command Boy!"

 _3…_

 _2…_

 _1…_

 _ **BEGIN!**_

The field changed into what looks to be a desert with some boulders on some parts of the area while the other half of the arena being a dense forest. Since it looks like it had enough to cover a person, I looked at BuraKaWani since he has the Infrared lenses thanks to the Full Combo. "You head to the forest, I'll be handling Amelia in the desert part of the arena!"

"Understood!" He nodded before he quickly ran into the foliage of the forest, consuming him while I stayed at the desert side of the arena.

Carter smirked as he dashed off to the forest as Amelia twirled around her fans before going into a combat pose.

I charged towards Amelia with the Tora Claws and before I knew it, our weapons actually clashes, sparks casting off as I held my ground upon the surprise. Amelia smirked. "Size does not indicate power!" She shouted before twisting my arms to the side and then striking me really hard in the face with her fans multiple times before kicking me in the shins causing me to be distracted as she then aimed her fan's blades! At! Me!

"Crap!" I quickly raised the claws before I used the Batta Legs and jumped back. I had to find out how she will strike. Wait, the Taka helm. Focusing on the helmet, I saw her rushing towards me once more and saw her movements in which I tilted my head to avoid a punch before i used the Batta Legs and kicked her across the side.

She used her fans to take most of the impact as she smoothly jumped back and narrowed her eyes at my helm which still glowed a bit. "Ah I see… a power that allows you to focus on me and my movements, how annoying." She muttered then went back to smirking.

"But here I have an advantage to control." Leaving me in confusion and much to my shock and surprise she started whirling her fans and the sand came up in a twister! And then she flung it at me blinding me all around. She cover herself in the storm to prevent me from using my eyes! I started to feel repeated blows all over my body and stab wound as well.

"Damn it…" I cursed under my breath as I try to find out where she is. I just hope BuraKaWani is going better than I was.

In the forrest, Carter was carefully looking around in search for the reptile motif Rider. He was careful, his guns aimed at all directions to see where he will show up. "Where are you…?" He muttered.

Searching around more, he was unaware that in the bushes, BuraKaWani was seeing his body heat. He grabbed the instrument from his side and placed it to the mouthplate and began to play the tune. With Carter, he heard the tune, making him stop and look at his surroundings. He was confused to why his opponent was playing music. His question was answered when a rather large cobra rose from the bushes.

"Well... snap." He muttered as the cobra hissed and lunged at him as he dodged to the side firing at the cobra and was a bit confused that his bullets did not affect it. Then his eyes widen as he notice that the cobra, for all intents and purpose was still coming from the bushes. "How quaint."

Before he stood still and soon the Cobra was on him and lunged at him again before he dodged and the cobra lunged at the tree and soon fired several rounds at several tree branches then as they fall he jumped up and side kicked them into the bushes causing BuraKaWani to curse and stop the tune, dissolving the cobra.

"Got you." He replied cheekily as he fired numerous rounds at him.

The Copy quickly place his arms together, the two armor pieces forming a shield as the bullets were stopped on impact as orange energy was emitted from each shot.

"Shields too?" Carter muttered as he rapidly approached the clone, unwilling to stand by and be a still target for him then he loaded a explosive magazine into his right gun and fired behind Enrique, the resulting explosion caused multiple fragments to slam him behind taking away his concentration and left him fully open to his barrage of firepower.

The Rider cringed as his opponent was getting closer so he delivered a kick, making Carter assume he will miss but did not expect his legs forming energy in the shape of alligator heads as it actually hit him, feeling the hit from that energized kick.

Carter flinched a bit but jumped right back up and was getting somewhat confused. "Legs that form energy in the shape of an alligator?" Then his eyes widened. "His body are all made of reptiles." He muttered a bit annoyed. "Therefore he can see the entire forest with ease due to reptiles seeing in infrared."

At first he looked annoyed but smiled. As Enrique came out towards him and jumping up with his legs screaming for him and casually dodged his kick as he slammed into the trees and then he fired at a tree and kicked it towards him sandwiching him between trees. He fired the last of his explosive rounds magazine at him knocking him out a bit.

During that time then he switched both magazines out for incendiary rounds and started firing them everywhere causing the place to catch fire as he smiled and took out a breather mask and hide in the smoke and heat.

BuraKaWani shook his head and realized his surroundings.

[ _Oh ho! It seems Carter has changed the tides, forcing the young man to be unable to sense the heat from his opponent!]_ Port's voice was heard.

BuraKaWani was conflicted. He could barely see where he was due to the fire. He shook his head, trying to keep it together. "Come on, come on…" He muttered. "I have to focus… I have to focus…" He muttered to himself, trying to search for Carter.

* * *

" _Come on, Enrique! You can beat them!" Ruby called out to her friend. The rest of Team RWBY along with Team JNPR, Ankh, and Akira were watching as they too, except Ankh, were trying to motivate their friend to win._

" _Oh man… he is done for…" Jaune gulped._

" _He is not," Ankh said, the nine looking at him. "That Combo may use infrared but if you recall, you humans and Faunus have different type of heat than fire."_

" _Really?" Ruby spoke up tilting her head in confusion._

 _Weiss's eyes narrowed at her. "Of course Ruby! Our bodies are much hotter than any mere forest fire than Carter can do!"_

" _Still though" Pyrrha spoke up. "Carter is not one you should underestimate no matter what." She said seriously._

 _The others could only hope that their friend will overcome the challenge._

* * *

I was struggling against Amelia as the sand was still preventing me from seeing. "That's it…" I muttered as I realized it was time to use it. I grabbed the three Gray Cores and replaced TaToBa with the three and scanned them.

 **SAI!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **ZOU!**

 **SAGOZO… SAGOZO!**

The crests aligned and the Gravity Combo formed on my armor. Clenched my hands, I began to beat onto my chest, bellowing as gray energy began to spread in the arena. Then the stage started to vibrate as the sand ceased to move and Amelia was surprised and jumped far back from me as soon as she sensed danger.

Then I blasted all the sand in the air and Amelia raised her fans to cover her eyes and as soon as she was done, her eyes widen even more as she saw the silver gray tanky form of OOO.

"Well this is bloody fantastic." she muttered as she yelped to dodge multiple shockwaves coming out from OOO's SaGoZo form.

I charged towards her and she dodged the moment I swung my fist, shattering the boulder that was once behind her. She aimed her rounds at my helmet but with the enhanced power of Sai, I didn't feel a thing.

Amelia cursed and leaned very far back to avoid the incoming blow that would have taken a good chunk of her Aura away. "Well now I should have expected that." She muttered but then she smiled. "Being more of a tank means less speed, and the flexibility he has still means there are still parts where he is not as hard." Then she accelerated herself very quickly and got behind me before I could react and soon pulled out her blades and if one pays attention closely enough they could see a vortex chain like formation from her blades as she jammed her blade hard into the armor causing me to scream as sparks casted off the armor.

"Just as I thought, the armor still has weak points." She smiled then she jumped back away from him before planning again.

I shook my head and saw her speeding right towards me. Okay, okay, she is doing what Ruby does… guess it's time for a quake. Raising my foot, I stomped the ground, causing it to shake as the blonde tripped from the tremor and was greeted with my fist to her face. "Feel this!" I shouted as I pushed harder with the left gauntlet now acted as a rocket, sending her flying across the arena.

Amelia slowly got up and looked at me "Rocket fists as well?" She pouted. "No fair! I always wanted rocket fists!"

"Life isn't fair," I used my right Gauntlet and smashed the ground, the energy spreading around the area as she was pushed out of the ground before I used the gauntlet and launched myself into the air. Seeing myself shot towards her, her eyes widen. "Headbutt!" I lowered my head and hit her in the gut.

Then Amelia was crashing towards the ground before she used her wind ability to slow her down so she gently landed into the sand and sighed in relief.

Then her eyes narrowed as she focused on me as soon as I came crashing down she jumped up and used her ability to keep her floating as then I fired my rocket fists once more she smirked and fired her blades...right where my eyes would be.

The brief distraction from my focus caused the fists to go out of control and during that time she dashed very quickly towards me, had both of her fan blades in a wind drill like format and dug them deep into my helm as sparks flashed as she continued to do so.

She moved me around as I twisted around a bit and she used her wind to inch the fists I fired straight into me pushing closer and closer to the… edge of the stage.

I slowly got up as I saw the screen showing my Aura and my clone being close to red. "Crap…" I cursed. I looked at Amelia who smirked. I clenched my fists as I shook my head. I couldn't rely on PuToTyra a lot… there has to be something. She uses the wind to her advantage. Flight basically… wait… flight? That's it!

I quickly reached for my side and grabbed Taka, Kujaku and Condor before replacing them. "Here goes…"

 **TAKA!**

 **KUJAKU!**

 **CONDOL!**

 **TA~JA~DOL!**

The entire stage got to witness the transformation of TaJaDol, feeling the heat that my armor was emitting, the burning soul that gave warmth, comfort, even the determination to finish the fight. Amelia seemed to be in awe upon seeing my change of armor.

As I was about to fly out and help my other counterpart a stream of bullets came caused me to take cover. All ranging from explosives, to ice, to lightning, wind, incendiary and the like as Carter tied to make one final push still.

But luckily I began to avoid the rounds as the peacock feathers formed while BuraKaWani quickly joined my side and got in front of me, using the shields. "Now, boss!"

I nodded as the feathers detached and became _numerous_ projectiles that were aimed at the two, the latter trying to take cover even try and counter but it was futile as each bullet was gone by the projectiles and passing through, heading towards our opponents.

"Frack" Amelia muttered.

Carter sighed and then smiled. "Well that's game then I guess."

The moment the feathers came in contact, they were hit numerous times until there Aura was now depleted.

[ _Incredible! Team Infinite has gotten back in the game and has defeated Carter and Amelia of Team CART! Team Infinite is the Winner!]_

The smoke died down to reveal the said two as Amelia groaned and Carter was...healing quite fast while my Copy vanished and merged back into my body while I approached the two. I looked down at the two before reaching my hand breathed heavily still before grabbing my hands and smiled at me.

"Jolly good show there Enrique! Glad to have fought you!" Then he focused more worried for Amelia and soon picked her up like a princess causing her to yelp and blush a bit, before turning to me as well and smiled.

"Good fight, wish Carter could have gone all out soon, he is a terror in close quarter combat." Before she began to nuzzle in Carter's chest and I swore I heard her demanding massages, ice cream, cake, and the likes.

I chuckled nervously before I tilted the buckle back, dispelling the armor. "Well, it was a good fight for sure." I smiled before looking at my friends who were at the seats before my sights set on Blake and gave her a thumb up. "I still have one more round to fight after all."

Carter then smiled. "If that's the case then why don't I help you practice then if you want." Causing me to blink in surprise.

"Well…" I rubbed the back of my head. "Maybe next time? After all, I have to be there for my friends and help them out." I gave the two a two-finger salute. "Hope we meet again." As I walked out of the arena, the two waved me goodbye as I went to join up with my friends.

When I rejoin with my friends, Ruby rushed up to me. "That was so awesome! You actually won!"

"Yeah, we thought you were gonna lose…" Jaune sighed in relief.

I smiled cheekily, "Hey, at least I did, right?" I pointed out. "Besides, I just had to keep focus on what to do and change the tides. Guess you could say, you guys cheering me on gave me the determination to win the round."

"Well, you were able to pass. The next match of the festival though will be the hardest out of them all." Ren nodded.

"Maybe we can get you a grenade launcher before then?" Nora smiled.

"Uh, I'll pass on the grenade launcher, Nora," I sweatdropped. "I just have to find which combo will be useful in the next battle."

"Aw, come on! It will be fun!"

"Fun for you, not me," I pointed out, making Nora pout.

"Well, upon you being the last one to finish the Doubles match, how about we go out to celebrate once more?" Pyrrha offered.

"The final match is tomorrow too!" Ruby beamed.

"We all came far… And I know that we did our school proud." Blake nodded, sneakily holding my hand.

We heard one of our Scrolls beep, making Pyrrha the one to blink before looking at her Scroll. "Something wrong?" Yang asked.

"Ozpin wants to see me," she answered.

"Did you do something wrong?" I blinked.

"I don't know," she looked at us. "I'll be back you guys. We can hold the celebration when I get back."

"Don't be late," Nora beamed. Pyrrha smiled and nodded, walking off towards the school to meet with Ozpin.

"So…. should we go on without her?" Ruby questioned.

"Maybe we should wait," I advised. "After all, it isn't a celebration without Pyrrha tagging along."

* * *

I was with Blake as the both of us were enjoying dinner together before we head back to our dorms. As I took a bite of the sushi, I looked at Blake who was enjoying hers as well. "Say Blake, what do you think we should do when the final match is over?" I asked curiously.

"Well…. What about the beach?" She offered, with a slight blush on her face from mentioning that.

"The beach?" I blinked. I remember how we all went to the school pool but never the beach. "A beach does sound nice but winter is coming up, remember?" I pondered for a moment before an idea clicked. "Oh! How about we go to Vacuo? It does sound like a nice place to go to."

"Heh, that sounds like a nice plan." She smiled at me.

I smiled before she kissed me softly for a moment then pulled away. "Always catching me by surprise," I teased her.

"It's my job, after all." She giggled.

"There you are," we turned around to see Cinder in her fighting attire.

"Oh hey Cinder," I smiled. "What's up?"

"Mind if I join you both?"

I looked at Blake. "Is it okay if she can eat with us, Blake?" I asked.

"Only if she understands not to try anything…." Blake glared at her.

"I'm only here to dine with friends," Cinder assured.

"Fine…" Blake responded, the young woman taking her seat with us.

"I heard that you two are now heading to the final match," Cinder smiled warmly. "I say congratulations to you two."

"It's nothing really. Blake's team and myself will be going to the final match after all." I waved off. "But I'm excited to see what will happen in the finals."

"Heh, who knows? Anything could happen." She chuckled softly. "The bigger question is who'll be the winner?"

"True," Blake nodded. "We still have the other teams to face along with your team."

"Heh, good luck then…." She said softly.

I chuckled until Blake stood up, "I'll be right back, Enrique." She kissed my cheek before walking away but I saw the kunoichi sway her hips a bit as I watched her walk away to my guess the ladies room.

"Enrique?" Cinder called out to me, "Do you mind if we talk privately?"

I got out of my trance before looking at Cinder. "We can talk here, Cinder." I replied. "Besides Blake was gonna come back."

Cinder nodded, "Enrique. I want you to join my team. Not in the festival, but with _us_." She offered.

"Huh?" I blinked. "Join your team? Why?"

"Heh, you'll know once you join us." She said, "You can't trust your schools or kingdoms at all Enrique… They're more selfish than you realize…."

I raised an eyebrow, "Beacon isn't a selfish place, Cinder. Beacon is my home." I responded. "I mean sure there are some bullies but it's considered home and being here in Vale, despite the incidents, it is a place I belong."

"Enrique. You're only seeing the shell of this wretched place…." Cinder said, "This place… Remnant, is nothing more than a cesspool of corruption, greed, and the worst of humanity and the Faunus. And I believe you are the key to changing everything…."

"Cinder, look, I do understand how dark the world can be…" I muttered. "Believe me… after what happened to me years ago as well as an incident recently… it made me more focused to how that the world isn't a nice place, there is always something to disrupt it. No matter what, the world can be a dark place…"

"Enrique. I'm only saying this once. Join us. You're gift is wasted here… Sides, I can give you what you want." Cinder offered.

"I help people around me, Cinder. And what do you mean by 'give me what I want'...?" I asked.

Cinder then brought out what made my eyes widen. It was one of the photos I kept with me that showed myself with Zack when we went on a trip to Japan. "I found this near the steps by Beacon…. I didn't know what it was at first until we met."

I grabbed it before putting it away in my pocket. "It's only a photo of my first friend." I responded. "The time when we went on a trip."

"Due to finding this, I believe that there could be a way to send you back home. Or… visit one last time." Cinder said, "So… will you join my team?"

I slowly looked at Cinder. At first I thought she might know where I was _actually_ from but I pushed that thought away as I look at her. "Cinder, this is home," I gestured to the surroundings. "Why would I go back to my… hometown when there is nothing or nobody waiting for me back at my hometown."

"But… wouldn't you want to visit it one last time?! What about-"

"Cinder, I'm sorry but I am not joining your team... " I replied. "My hometown… there's nothing for me to go back to… I'm happy where I am. I am happy that I met Blake. I am happy that Ankh is training me. I am happy that I have a family, my friends."

"You… you can't say no to me!" She glared.

Now I was confused. Why is Cinder acting like this? "Just what is wrong, Cinder? Why are you so upset that I am not joining your team?"

"I'm upset that you aren't accepting my offer Enrique…" She said, "Nobody says no to me… You're joining us now."

Before I can speak up, I heard Blake's voice. "I'm back," She smiled softly as she walks over to us. She then noticed Cinder angry at me. "What happened?"

"Uh… Cinder wanted me to join her team and I declined," I explained. "And then she got upset. I don't know why would someone be so mad over it?"

"Here…. Here I thought I could try my best… But you aren't worth my time anymore…" She turned around before storming off.

I reached my hand out before I slumped my shoulders. "I wasn't trying to upset her…" I muttered.

"Wonder what that was all about?" Blake pondered, taking my hand.

"I honestly don't know…" I replied. "But really, I wasn't trying to upset her, Blake. I was just declining her offer, even telling her all about you guys being my family. And yet she got upset all because of that… I honestly feel bad for making her that upset…"

"Don't be Enrique. You did nothing wrong, only told her the truth and your feelings. Guess she was expecting something else?" Blake pointed out.

"I… I guess so…"

"Come on… let's head back." She said, gently pulling on me.

"Okay…" I nodded before I stood up from the stool and followed Blake to the dorms. When we made it to our respective dorms, Blake went to her dorm before I went to mine. However, the moment I was about to swipe my Scroll across it, I heard the door behind me open to see Blake with her sleepwear and what seems to be her clothes for tomorrow? I blinked at first until I asked Blake, "You… want to spend the night at my dorm…?" I guessed.

She nodded shyly, "Yes..."

I opened the door to my dorm before the both of us entered while I went to the bathroom to put on my sleepwear before walking out to see Blake already in her sleepwear. The both of us went to my bed while Blake gently rested her head on my shoulder. "Night, Blake…" I yawned.

"Night…" She replied softly before we drifted off into sleep.

* * *

 _As the night continues, Cinder was calmly walking back and forth in her dorm. With her was Mercury and Emerald as the two saw that under that calm expression was anger. Why was she angry? Well it was due to OOO declining the offer._

" _Guess he declined the offer?" Mercury asked nervously_

" _He's now on the hit list…" Cinder said, "He's no longer part of the plan anymore."_

" _How are we gonna deal with him then…?" Emerald asked. "He is that OOO."_

 _Cinder was quiet for a moment before looking at Emerald who flinched, "When I get the other half of her power, I'll deal with him."_

" _What about that er… purple armor he can bring forth…?" Mercury added on._

" _I believe Adam can handle it with ease…." She said, already contacting him._

 _Back in the White Fang base, Kazari was flipping pages of the notes on the old journal he kept. Some mentioned old logs from that bastard Gara. The Feline Greeed has always got used to the abilities of Mezool's of two Cores along with a Core from Gamel. Still… that Combo he saw poses a threat but then again…_

 _it just might be useful. OOO dealing with the enemies with that power and Kazari will be laying back. "Amusing…" he hummed. "Guess it just might be easy for me after all." He heard the doors open, making him place the journal in his pocket._

" _Kazari…" Adam walked in, "We need to talk…"_

" _Oh?" Kazari leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets. "What seems to be the matter?"_

" _You…. That's what…." He growled, "You just sent my men to their deaths again! All for what? More of these… medals?"_

 _Kazari didn't flinch, his grin still present as he looked at his hand for a moment. "They are… unique in a way if you prefer bull boy."_

 _Adam gritted his teeth and reached for his sword until Kazari grabbed his wrist, turning into his Greeed form as his left arm's claw extended, close to Adam's cheek. "_ _ **You do know what I can do remember? Simple threats are nothing to me."**_ _He purred calmly but under the red eyes was an ominous feeling that Adam could feel. "_ _ **You wouldn't want to disappoint your soldiers again now… would you?"**_

 _Adam growled in anger, "I swear…. You'll get what's coming to you…. And I'll be there to witness it…"_

 _Kazari chuckled as the claws barely nicked Adam's cheek, only drawing a very small amount of blood. "_ _ **Desires… desires…"**_ _he hummed as the claw receded as he released Adam. "_ _ **I'll be heading to the stadium and watch the fun… good luck, bull boy."**_ _The Feline Greeed closed the door, leaving only Adam in the room._

" _D-Damn that monster…" He growled, gripping his fist as blood was drawn out. "I swear, I'll be the one to remove that head of his…."_

 _Back with Kazari, he was looking at a case that one of the White Fang members brought. That being an item they managed to excavate from some ruins. He opened the case and saw a Yellow Cheetah Core. "_ _ **Core number 4,"**_ _he mused, examining his Core. Looking over at the two soldiers he looked back at his medal and absorbed it, the bandages now a bit brighter than last time. "_ _ **Ah**_ _,_ _ **only 5 more of my Medals and I'll be full again."**_

" _W-We shall be going sir." The two White Fang members bowed, ready to head back out on their patrol._

" _ **Then go, I have other fun to attend to."**_ _He simply waved them off as he walked away in his human form, heading to the tournament to witness the eventual start of the plan._

* * *

 **Blazing: Taka (x2), Kujaku (x1), Condor (x1)**

 **Scorching: Lion (x1), Tora (x2), Cheetah (x1)**

 **Strongest: Kuwagata (x1), Kamakiri (x1), Batta (x1)**

 **Legendary: Kobura (x1), Kame (x1), Wani (x1)**

 **Water: Shachi (x1), Tako (x1), Unagi (x1)**

 **Gravity: Sai (x1), Gorilla (x1), Zou (x2)**

 **Invincible: Ptera (x1), Tricera (x1), Tyranno (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"The final round…" I muttered as I took a deep breath.

"I…" I tried to find the right words when Yang asked me that question.

 _Mercury felt a hand grab the back of his neck, choking him. "W-What…" he gasped for air. He slowly turned his head a bit to see none other than Ankh._

 **Next Time:** Single Round, Trust, Revelation

* * *

 **A/N:** Well that is it for this chapter folks! I hope you all enjoyed the fight of the Double match with our Rider once again winning the match and going to the Single Round. What will happen next and who will he face in the Single Round? You all will just have to wait and see. I will see you all in the next chapter! Stay in the shadows everyone!


	34. Chapter 33: Single Round, Trust

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 33rd chapter of OOO! Sorry for the late update for this story. I hoped you all enjoyed the new story that I recently published. You can consider this the second present for you all. Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc.). Don't forget to check out my newest story, **Overwatch: Key of Destiny** (Kamen Rider Gaim x Overwatch).

Don't forget to check out my other stories as well.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _Lost Ankh's room was littered with many books about combat, strategy and tactics. His TV was showing footage of the double round, seeing OOO once again victorious but he also witness the use of the three Red Cores._

 _It made him frown slightly, even for a child disguised Greeed. "OOO…" he muttered as he replayed the footage again and again._

 _As he watched more, the door was heard once again, making him look back to see Winter once again as she took notice of many of the books scattered across the room._

" _Have you been reading all day?" She asked him, picking up some of the books, "This is quite advanced knowledge….. You sure you understand it?"_

 _Lost Ankh tilted his head before nodding, "I… learn from it…" he replied, looking at another book._

" _Well… as long as you're happy…" She placed it back down. "Hungry?"_

 _Hearing that word made him blink. "Hungry…?" He repeated. "I'm… not…"_

" _You have to eat sometime…." She crossed her arms._

" _I'm… not…" He mumbled as he closes the book and reaches for another about military tactics. "I'll… eat later…."_

" _Very well…." She nodded, "Just so you know, we will be meeting with a few important people later on. So please make sure to be there, alright?"_

 _The child disguised Greeed looked at her, "Why… me?" He asked._

" _I need to know where you came from little one… This way I can see if they can arrange someplace safer for you to stay at." She explained_

" _I… want to stay here…" he replied. "This nest… is home…"_

 _Winter's eyes soften upon his response. Personally… it was somewhat painful for her… for once she felt this feeling, a feeling that she didn't want to send the 'child' away. She grew fond of having him here, watching over him._

" _Then… I guess I'll have to add you to my family." she smiled softly. "Would you like that?"_

 _Lost Ankh looks at her, tilting his head. "Fam.. ily…?" He repeated._

" _Yes. Family." She rubbed his head gently and playfully._

 _He stared at Winter, sensing this unknown feeling in his body. It was strange too… He slowly nodded, accepting it._

 _She smiled, "Well, I'll let you know the news once I talk with father." She said, walking out of the room._

 _When she was gone, he went into his Greeed form as he looked at his purple arm._ _ **"Fam… ily… Family…"**_ _He repeated._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 33: Single Round, Trust, Revelation**

Today was the new day. As well as the most toughest match for everyone. The Singles Round. The match where it will decide the winner of the Vytal Festival. I was nervous but also excited for this. Right now I was waking up from my sleep, letting out a yawn as the sunlight cashed through the window.

I then looked down to see a sleeping, yet happy Blake clinging to my side as that same purr is audible once more. She sighed in her sleep nuzzling my side softly while wanting to stay here for now.

"Blake, it's time to wake up," I said softly.

"Nuu…. sleepy…." she groaned softly.

"You do realize that today is the Single Round?" I reminded with a small chuckle.

"Don't care… this is nice…" She smiled.

I pondered for a moment before a sly grin crept my lips. I grab hold of her before picking her up in a bridal carry.

She squeaked, waking up with a blush, "W-What's this for?"

"To wake you up of course," I answered. "Or would you prefer cold water to the neck?"

"I-I… kinda like this…" She blushed, hugging my neck gently.

"Really?" I blinked. She nodded in embarrassment.

"Well if you two aren't just rays of sunshine," we jolted as there stood a grinning Yang by the door. Blake quickly lets go of me before standing up.

"I-It's not like that, Yang," Blake flustered.

"Really? It looks like you two are trying to 'get in bed', and in the morning too," The blonde responded with a sly grin, causing the both of us to blush heavily, making her laugh. "I'm just messing with ya, it's not like you two have done it before…"

Our blushes grew from her last statement.

"Wait…." Her eyes widen as she gains a large smirk, "You two did!?"

Blake and I turned our heads away from her gaze, trying to hide the blush that covered our faces. "I-I think I'll head to the cafeteria," I suggested before I quickly left the room, leaving Blake with Yang.

With Yang she approached her partner with a sly grin. "No need to deny it~," she said. "Guess I now know why you stopped reading those smut books."

"Please don't test me Yang…." Blake glared at her.

"Heh. Actually… I'm proud of you going that far with him." She admitted.

"I… I wanted to since I nearly lost him…" her partner replied. "He means a lot to me, Yang."

"Hey, I can understand, Blake," she assured, making the Cat Faunus let out a small smile. "But seriously, how was it?"

Blake glared at Yang with a blush before leaving the room to not answer the question.

"Come on… I won't tell anyone!" She pleaded, following her.

* * *

I was eating breakfast as a blush still adorned my cheeks. Why did Yang have to say such things and make me remember that day? I mean sure Blake and I- okay! I _seriously_ have to stop remembering that! I quickly shook my head to clear my thoughts and thankfully it worked as I was now calm and continued to eat breakfast.

"You okay Enrique? You look flustered." Ruby asked.

"I-It's nothing to worry about, Ruby," I assured. "Your sister was saying some stuff again."

"Like what?"

"You'll find out when you get older."

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I wanna know now.." She huffed in annoyance.

"It's best you find out on your own, Ruby. Trust me."

She huffed once more, going back to eating her cookies that she got earlier.

"So, any idea what you have planned to use for your Single's Match?" Weiss asked me.

"Hmm… well everyone saw PuToTyra, SaGoZo, BuraKaWani, and TaJaDol along with the random combos." I recalled. "They haven't seen GataKiriBa, LaToraTah or ShaUTa."

"Hmm.. Personally. ShaUTa seems the more plausible one to use. Due to it's power to become water." Weiss pointed out. "LaToraTah would be dangerous since you would practically burn the arena, or the enemy could slip you up with some Ice and give you an instant ring out."

"You can also use those electric whips and water blasts with ShaUTa," Ruby added.

"Guess I'll use that combo then," I decided. "So who did you pick to go to the Single Match?"

"You rang?" Yang chuckled behind me.

I jumped, nearly spilling my tray as I see Yang. "Yang? You are going to the Single Match?" I asked.

"Yep!" She chirped. "I heard you are gonna use that Marine Combo?"

"It is the best option to go for," I shrugged.

"Well, this is going to be an interesting match." she winked before sitting down. "We all got this! This is the final match to show that Beacon is the best!"

"Yeah!" Ruby agreed.

"Remember you guys, this will be the toughest match to win," I reminded. "I mean I barely lost in the double match and I was barely lucky to win. Wasn't it the same for you and Weiss?"

"He has a point, Yang" Blake said. "You should be careful on this Single match."

"Hey, this is me we're talking." she pumped her fist. "I got this."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Ruby said. "Let's head to the fairgrounds and be ready for the Singles Match!"

"Ruby, it won't start for another 3 hours. You sure you wanna go now?" Jaune turned to her.

"Don't you all want to be prepared?" She pointed out. "I mean, we have to be ready since Yang, Enrique, and Pyrrha are going to the Singles Match. Plus we might be hungry again along the way."

"Yes but, though we may have the indication of our opponents, we don't know who we'll truly face. We could end up fighting each other." Jaune stated, "Sides… I think it would be better to wait, rest up and plan before we head out there…."

"For once I agree with the blonde moron," Ankh grumbled, eating his treat. "Despite this 'tournament', it is more preferable if you simply wait… and _strike_."

"You make it sound scary that way," Ruby commented.

"Was it suppose to be?" He raised an eyebrow in annoyance. "I'm merely stating the fact for you idiots."

"Is there anything else in that vocabulary of yours that isn't calling us 'idiots'?" Nora questioned.

"Let's see," he raised his hand. "Morons, humans and Faunus, trash, meat bags, stupid people, and more importantly, brats. Does that answer your question?" He listed.

"Can I break his legs now?" Nora asked.

"No," Ren denied.

"Aw…"

Ankh scoffed before looking at me then grabbing the Medal Book from me and took out ShaUTa along with one of the two Taka Cores, Tora, and Batta before handing them to me. "I'm taking back the book, you are only holding onto those Cores."

I sighed, "Alright…"

"Just do your best….." He said, walking away.

When we finished breakfast, we all decided to do what we usually do before the match starts in the next two hours.

I was right now by the school garden with Blake as the both of us were by the tree we always sat under, seeing the pink petals fall ever so slowly. "Peaceful like always…" I commented softly with a small smile.

"Yeah.. I can't get enough of this view." Blake responded softly. I felt her hand being placed into my own, feeling her soft skin on mine.

"Same here…" I responded. "The plants bring reminders of my old home…"

"Well… now you can remember it when we finally started dating several weeks ago…" She smiled.

"It's been almost a month hasn't it?" I realized.

"Yeah. But I think it was worth it." She kissed my cheek. "And I wouldn't trade it for the world. You made me happy for the first time in my life."

I smiled softly, "I reach out to help those around me, Blake. Seeing you happy, it makes me happy."

She smiled, a soft but cute blush forms on her face as she kisses me gently. "And that's one reason why I love you..."

I returned the kiss before pulling away when our Scrolls rang, making us check them and saw that it was almost time for the festival to start. "Guess we should go. We wouldn't want to be late for the festival to start," I noticed.

She nods, "Yeah…. Though once we're done, we have a long time to relax ourselves due to the holidays and winter coming up." she said.

"Yep," I nodded in agreement before the both of us got up and went over to meet up with Ruby and the others.

"Glad to see you two made it in time." Weiss crossed her arms, "You could've shown up earlier?"

"Hey we didn't know it was nearly time," I replied.

"Only cause you two were sucking each other's faces." Yang chuckled.

"No, we weren't!" Blake flustered.

"The blush says otherwise…." Weiss noted.

"Let's just focus on the tournament, okay?" I sighed. "Today and tomorrow is the Single Match."

"Enrique's right, let's get ready Team RWBY!"

"Don't forget about us too!" Nora added on. I took of Pyrrha in her thoughts, as if thinking about something.

"Hey Pyrrha, is something wrong?" I whispered.

"It's… nothing Enrique…" She responded softly, not looking at me.

"If you need to talk about anything, I'm here to help out," I offered as she, Yang, myself and a few others from other teams step in the center of the battlefield stage.

"Hey Enrique," Sun said.

"Hey Sun, guess you made it too?"

"You know it man." He smirks, "Also, congrats on taking Blake. I'm glad she decided to choose you over some jerk."

I rubbed the back of my head as the broadcast began. "Now, for the moment you've all been waiting for! The one-on-one finals!" Port announced. "Why don't you explain rules, Barty?"

"Ah, it's quite simple, Peter. Instead of a bracket system, each round of the finals will be randomly determined immediately before the match takes place!"

"That's right! Anything goes here in this match. And the match will continue until there is only 'one' student left. So do your best everyone, for you may end up fighting friends or teammates." Port announced as the crowd grew quiet with murmurs and whispers. "Much like any good hunt, there will be zero time to prepare."

"Ah, yes, yes! Now, let's see who our first match will be!"

We all watched as the roulette on the screen was rolling, choosing who will fight in the first match. It slowed down before the roulette showed the image of myself and… Sun. Oh boy...

"And, its Enrique from Beacon vs Sun from Mistral!" Oobleck announced.

"Guess it's me and you, Sun." I chuckled nervously.

"Well, this is going to be interesting." He smirked, "Good luck to ya, man."

The both of us went to our respective positions while I placed in the Marine Combo, tilting the buckle and scanned them. "Henshin!"

 **SHACHI!**

 **UNAGI!**

 **TAKO!**

 **SHA-SHA-SHAUTA! SHA-SHA-SHAUTA!**

"Oh? Using the aquatic medals?" He chuckled, "Guess you don't have a monkey medal, do ya?"

"Well I have gorilla," I shrugged.

"That's an ape….. Not a monkey…" He frowned slightly.

"S-Sorry!" I apologized.

He chuckled softly, "Hey man. I'm just messing with ya. Do your best alright?" He held up his fist.

"R-Right," I nodded as the countdown began.

 _Three…_

 _Two…_

 _One…_

Sun and I got into our stances with my whips extending, sparks casting off of the whips.

 _ **BEGIN!**_

The blonde Faunus charged ahead, throwing punch after punch after me before gripping my leg with his tail, tripping me to the ground as he reels back his fist, ready for a hard punch.

I focused on the combo and when he delivered his punch, the attack phases through me. "What the-"

I used the whip and lashed him with the electric attack of my whips, causing him to stumble away as I swung another strik, making him roll away from the whiplash then again as I continue to swing it at him.

"N-Nice trick!" He groaned, dodging my attacks, "Guess I could use some... Help!" He smashed his fist into his open palm, creating two energy clones before they charged ahead and struck me with their staffs. He quickly got back up, before joining in with his clones as they continued to strike me, small bursts of electricity formed out from each hit Sun made before they kicked me to the side.

I cringed from the attacks as the combo was useless against his Semblance. When I saw his tail coming around my leg, I changed plans as my Tako Legs activated and spread apart, forming 8 octopus legs and grabbed his tail. "Lets see you try this!" I spun around with the help of Tako Legs as he was being spun around until I release my grip, sending him away from me.

"Man that stings…" He rubbed his tail, "Guess I gotta get smarter…." He smirked, slamming his staff into the ground, the staff becoming those gun chucks.

Oh boy… now I have to keep up

He rushed towards me and began to fire round after round as I began to keep up with the pace. The whip's length shortened so I can keep up with each hit, even using Tako Legs to block each attack as we were going more faster.

 _[Incredible! Sun and Enrique are neck and neck in the increasing clash!]_ Portcommented.

 _[But who will win this match? That has yet to be decided….]_ Oobleck added on.

Sun and I continued our clash, our teeth gritting as we try to focus on who can make the hit. Hearing the sound of an Orca, I unleashed a water blast at Sun, sending him away from me a bit.

"Seriously?" Sun asked, his clothes now soaked along with his tail and hair.

I chuckled, remembering my Semblance since it involves anything cold. "Feeling chilly?" I asked.

His eyes widen as I focused on the coldness of the water, making it slowly become ice.

He saw his tail, and his clothes forming specks of ice. "Th-That's cold!" He shivered.

"I was about to say that!" Yang's voice shouted from the seats.

I rushed towards Sun who took notice as I swung the whips again, only this time, Sun seems to have some trouble due to the ice on his clothes.

"Come on Sun!" Neptune called out.

"I-It's kinda hard to… w-when my tail… is like that…" He shivers.

Sun dodged another whiplash until I grabbed his leg and made him fall back. He saw me in the air as I spun around with the whips like a wheel and came down at him.

He quickly grabbed a fire dust, before infusing it into his weapon as he strikes the ground, creating steam all around him as he vanishes within it.

I landed on my feet and looked around, now cautious and alert as I try to locate the Monkey Faunus. "Where is he…" I mumbled to myself as the whips extended more. A quick strike made me cringe as I looked down to see most of my left leg frozen in ice. And another strike made my right arm now frozen. He was planning to freeze me solid! This was just like what Weiss did!

I quickly looked at the large clumps of ice, now panicking since I am still trying to adjust to my Semblance.

* * *

" _Oh no! Enrique won't be able to focus on that much ice! His Semblance still hasn't adjust to himself! Weiss realized. "The ice I used was one thing but from those large amounts, I don't think he will win this…"_

" _But if that happens, he'll lose!" Ruby frowned before looking at the arena. "Come on, Enrique! You can win this! Show them what you can do!"_

 _Ankh rolled his eyes in annoyance before he glanced at Mercury and Emerald at the other side. He narrowed his eyes, the same feeling shrouding him. His fighting instincts were never wrong._

 _They are planning something… and to his guess, the busty blonde would get in trouble. He turned his head to see the Cinder woman who was watching the fight. As if she felt it, she glanced at Ankh, the latter narrowing his eyes upon seeing the smoldering orbs._

 _Those were the same eyes from the infiltrator back on the CCT, even more the power he could feel from her. 'So it is her…' he stared at Cinder more before he grinned rather maliciously at her and mouthed the words, 'You're screwed, bitch'._

 _Cinder, though, just had a delighted smirk, turning back to the match. Seems to her, that OOO's 'mentor' saw right through her, Mercury, and Emerald. Guess they truly do call him and the other Greeed, the 'First Five Huntsmen'._

* * *

"Take this!" Sun shouted, swinging his last nunchuck as it strikes my chest, freezing my whole body solid as he jumps back, panting hard. "M-Man… I was hoping… not to resort to this…."

My eyes were widened under my helmet as my body was frozen. I had to do something… My Semblance hasn't fully adjusted since I still haven't got used to it. Weiss may have helped me but this was a larger block of ice.

' _I-I have to do something…'_ I panicked mentally.

"Sorry Enrique. No hard feelings eh?" He chuckled softly.

I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the ice. ' _Come on… come on… I… I can't…"_ I suddenly felt my hand clench in the ice as I began to focus to my very best. ' _I can't give up!'_

 _[It seems Enrique is unable to do a thing! The only thing that can happen now is the ice depleting his Aura until it's gone. Thus would make Sun the winner.]_ Oobleck announced as the screen showed my Aura depleting rapidly.

I saw Sun watching as I clench my hands more tightly. I couldn't use my Dino Cores since Ankh warned me that using up too much of its power would make me subject to Greeedification again. I shut my eyes closed as I focus on my Semblance. I am not gonna let my friends down! I am not doing this for myself to win… I am winning to prove and show how much I learned from Ankh and from my friends!

There was no way I will give up!

Focusing on my Semblance with everything I got, I gritted my teeth as the ice was cracking. "RRRAAAAAAHHHHH!" The ice shattered as I panted but the ice covered my arms and legs, acting as extra armor. I looked at them for a moment before a smirk grew under my helmet.

"Ugh… great…" He groaned, "And when could you do this?"

"I may be new to this…" I admitted as I got back into my stance. "But I am doing what I have learned." I rushed towards the Faunus and delivered a strike that he dodges before I moved my foot to the side and used the ice and allow it to spread across the ground.

He took notice as he swung his gun chucks but I punched him across the side, causing him to stumble a bit. Sun shook his head before seeing me rush towards him once more.

"Oh no you don't!" He put his weapon back into its staff form, before thrusting it towards my chest.

I planted my foot down and decided to use the ice that began to envelop me and pushed it forward.

From the seats, Weiss looked at Blake. "He's using the same technique like you do with your Semblance, Blake!"

"Looks like he's proving something to you." Yang teased the Faunus.

With me and Sun, he tried to go for another swing but I once again dodged it with another ice construct only now the first half of his staff was caught in the ice.

"Crap!" He turned around, swinging his leg this time only for me to counter by bringing up my arm to block the kick.

I twisted my body and delivered a spun kick that sent him stumbling before I sprayed water around him before using the cool water and made the ice form and cover him from the feet to his chest, his head being the only thing not in ice.

I clenched my hands tightly before running towards him and leaped up before I delivered a knee to his chest, sending him flying before I once again used the tentacles and grabbed his legs. When wrapped I spun around before releasing him, sending him rolling across the arena.

He skidded to a stop, standing up slightly, though obviously weak. I turned to see his Aura in the mid yellow, one last powerful strike would end this match easily.

"Guess this is it, huh?" I looked at Sun as I panted.

"Yep…" he panted but grinned. "Let's see who wins." He rushed towards me with his stuff while I rushed towards him as the whips receded while my arms were now in ice. We let out our battle cries as we swung our respective weapons at each other.

A large explosion erupted as both he and I were shot out far as I landed, only skidding to a stop near the edge while Sun only landed in a pile of sand, but the bell rang quickly, showing his Aura was completely depleted while I still had some left.

 _[And with that last attack, Sun's Aura is completely depleted! Enrique wins the first Single's Match!]_ Port announced.

I panted as I slowly gained my footing but nearly lost my balance. I approached him before reaching my hand out as I titled the buckle, reverting to civilian form, revealing my bruises.

"Ugh… I knew I should've just struck you in that glacier you were in…" He groaned taking my hand and slowly getting back up, "But… good match man."

"Same goes to you," I chuckled.

"Heh, guess I'll have to try next time this Festival happens." He smirked, "Come on. Your friends and gal are waiting."

I nodded as the both of us walked out of the arena as the audience was cheering and clapping.

* * *

 _Cinder clapped upon seeing OOO win. She knew he would be a problem indeed. Glancing at Mercury, she said. "Make sure the blonde… 'accidently injures' you." She ordered._

 _Mercury smirked evilly and nodded._

 _The maiden looked where Ankh was seating, seeing him still staring at her, giving her the same look as before._

" _That Bird has been watching us since the festival began, Cinder…." Emerald noticed._

" _It'll be alright. He can't do anything as it is already…. Even if he did or got help, it'd be too late. Let's just relax and watch the show…" Cinder smirked._

 _The Bird Greed saw the smirk, the same way Kazari shows whenever he has something planned. 'That bitch is like Kazari…' he observed. 'Guess it's another problem if she is in my way of getting my real body from that 'husk'."_

* * *

We met up with the others as Sun and I fell back on our rears.

"Great match, Enrique! You too Sun." Ruby smiled. "I was actually worried that Enrique would've lost…"

"Hey, he put up a good fight, even with that Fish Combo," The Monkey Faunus chuckled.

"I thought it was called Shouta?" Nora questioned.

"It's ShaUTa, Nora," Ruby corrected.

"Regardless, you two did well. Now we have to wait to see who's next?" Jaune pointed out.

"Right about that…" I sighed before looking at Ankh. "I told you I can prove how much I have learned from what you taught me."

Ankh stared at me before he huffed and turned around. "Good…" he finally said, making the others look at him.

"Did he just…"

"You. Didn't. Hear. A thing." The Bird Greeed glared at the others before he walked away, leaving our sights.

"He just doesn't want to admit that Enrique improved," Weiss crossed her arms.

"You know… he kinda acts like you, Weiss," Yang commented. "You two do act all mean and all while Ankh's more of a jerk than you. And you don't want to prove or admit certain good things of others."

"Don't test me, you blonde…" Weiss glared at her, her face already red from the resemblance picture Yang painted.

"I'm just saying," the blonde shrugged.

"Let's not fight, okay?" I intervened. "For right now, let's just relax for a bit since the next match will be in the next hour."

"Ooh! I'll get us some pizza!" Ruby beamed.

"Pizza!" Nora beamed.

"Well… Pizza does sound nice," I nodded as Sun and I stood up after regaining some energy. "Let's go then."

"Yay!"

Coming to an agreement, we all went to a booth and ordered ourselves pizza. We all sat around a table with one pizza in the center; each slice being one for each of us with our favorites.

"Geez Nora.. Have enough toppings?" Sun got out with a chuckle. Nora's pizza slice had literally every kind of toppings imaginable.

"It's Nora we are talking about Sun," Jaune said.

"Good point," he nodded.

As we ate, I took notice of Pyrrha still down. "Pyrrha, are you sure you are okay?" I asked her as the others talked to each other.

"Hm?" She blinked, turning to me, "Oh, yeah. I'm fine… It's nothing to worry about."

"Pyrrha, look, something is bothering you," I explained. "Is there something wrong? Please tell me."

"Nothing is wrong, Enrique. I'm fine…" She responded. "Let's just get the food, alright?"

I was about to speak up before I sighed and ate my slice of pizza. Still, I wonder what is bothering her…? After finishing up my slice, we heard one of our Scrolls ring.

"Woah! Looks like I'm up." Yang smirks, "This is gonna be easy."

"Wonder who'll be your opponent?" Blake pondered.

"Who cares who it'll be? Yang will win easy peasy." Ruby smiled.

"Don't underestimate your opponents," Ankh informed. "You may have a special Semblance but even that can make you lose."

"I know that, bird brain." She smirks.

* * *

 _[Welcome back everyone to the second round of the Single Match!]_ Port announced.

 _[Todays match is Yang Xiao Long from Beacon vs Mercury Black from Haven. These two close quarters fighters will be in a single ring. No stages, just skills and the arena. First one to knock the opponent out of the ring, or complete deplete their Aura wins.]_ Oobleck added on, surprising the crowd. [ _That's right. They must do one of those to win. No longer disqualification from the Aura in the Red Zone anymore.]_

"You can win this, Yang!" Ruby cheered.

"Yeah!" I agreed until I noticed Ankh staring at someone. "Hey Ankh, what's up?"

"Nothing…" he shoved the Medal book to me. "Be right back…"

I blinked as I watched him leave. I wonder what was wrong with him? I simply shrugged as I stayed with my friends and began to watch the fight between the two brawlers.

* * *

 _Cinder walks her way to the exit as she walks away, knowing what she had planned will go smoothly._

" _You have a lot of guts if you were capable to do this," She saw Ankh by the exit, leaning against the wall as he was eating his treat. "Especially when I felt that power just by looking at your eyes." He finished his ice cream and glanced at her. "And it doesn't belong to you." He snapped the stick in half with two of his fingers._

" _Trust me. It doesn't belong to you or the Headmasters either…. But it will be mine." She responded._

" _Like I know that," he huffed as he glared at the maiden. "A desire for power eh?" He circled around her, his Greeed arm forming while the other hand on the handle of his blade that is sheathed. "You desire that power that you… 'took'. You desire to break the human and Faunus apart, try and making the kingdoms be wary of each other…" he showed his arm that was close to her hand, flames showing in his palm. "But to me… you are in my way of getting what is mine. So I say this, bitch, you dare bring any harm to my charge, to those 'friends' of his…, the flames of a Phoenix will burn you alive before you know it. And I will be the one to see you burn into nothing"_

" _Oh trust me Ankh. Once I get that power again… Even your kind can't stop me." She turned to him, her eyes lite with fire for a moment._

 _Ankh's glare turned into a smirk. "If Kazari hasn't told you knowing him, other simple attacks won't do anything, even that power. You wanna test me, bitch? Then you will see when I have my body and show you_ real _fire."_

" _You're fire, is nothing more than a small ember from a candle…."_

" _We'll see about that," he chuckled as he walked past her. "Ask yourself, what will OOO do to you when that day comes. When he uses those Purple Cores to either defeat you or… kill you," He walked back into the tournament._

 _She growled in anger, walking away and out of the Festival arena, ready for her other plans. She knew Ankh is right… those Purple Cores are powerful. Invincibility was something no one had and this one has those Cores of power. If Enrique did learn due to Ankh, he would use them to stop her._

* * *

We continued to watch Yang fight against Mercury. They going fighting like no tomorrow too! This was way better than your average martial arts brawl you see on TV!

"Break his legs!" Nora shouted out, too into the fight to realize her words.

They exchange kicks after this attack until Mercury hits her backwards, and he rushes forward only to receive a fist to his chin, then his torso, knocking him on his stomach. He gets up right as Yang starts raining down fire again, causing him to somersault back until one explosion causes him to get knocked off of the stage. He saves himself by firing his boots downward and flying back in front of his enemy, unleashing a series of kicks that she deflects with her arms. She ducks under one attack only to receive another as Mercury jumps into the air to knock her back, and he follows it up with a shot from his boots. Yang avoids it effortlessly, not noticing it still hanging around behind her.

Switching tactics, Mercury starts shooting his foot out in every direction, each kick into the air accompanied by a silvery blast that are barely even aimed at Yang. She dodges each one coming her way and gets in close through the circling barrage of shots, fighting with their fists again until Mercury kicks her into the air and knocks her right back to the ground, followed by the dozens of swirling shots that now converge right onto Yang.

When the blasts stop coming down on his opponent, Mercury gets up from his crouch and grins to himself, dusting off his outfit and seeming as happy as can be until the smoke from behind him erupts into flames. His momentary shock turns into another smile as he turns around to see the red-eyed Yang slam her knuckles together and come at him.

Screaming, she lands a punch that sends him back, and she rushes up avoiding each kick and even taking one with no effect to pound at him with an unrelenting bombardment of left-right blows. He has enough time to let out a pained groan before she hits him in the stomach, his Aura sparkling up to try and defend him from the last hit to the face by the upset blonde. He lands on his back as the buzzer sounds over the roars of the audience.

 _[And with that amazing fight, Yang Xiao Long wins the match!]_ Port announced as the crowd erupted in applause.

"Way to go Yang!" I cheered for our friend.

"You did it sis!" Ruby added.

Yang panted turning to the now weakened Mercury, "Better luck next time." She said with a smile, ready to head off of the arena.

"That's not going to happen blondie!" Mercury shouted, murderously angry.

Yang froze as she turned around, only to see the silver haired Huntsmen get up and charge at her. Everything felt as if it was slowing down. Only for her to see him jump at her, leg extended as she saw he was planning to attack her. She frowned as she reeled back her fist and shot his leg but also the sound of something breaking, making everyone even myself to gasp in shock.

"GGAUGH!" He wailed out in pain, looking up at her, "W-Why? Why would you do that?!"

"You attacked me, you little bastard!"

"Yang Xiao Long! Stand down!" Several Atlas soldiers rush into the arena, guns drawn at her.

Even I was wondering what just happened. This isn't something Yang would do! But… but she somehow injured him… just what is going on?

* * *

"I…. I don't understand… Why are we disqualified?!" Yang's voice shouted from across my dorm.

I looked at the door once more before I stood up and walked out of my dorm and approached hers but I took notice of two Atlesian Knights guarding the room. I reached for the knob but one of the knight robots spoke up, "You can't enter."

"My friends are inside," I answered.

"The General is talking to them. And soon you as well. Now please return to your room." The other one replied.

"I didn't do anything wrong," I explained.

"They are being idiots," Ankh said from my dorm. "Even machines can be stupid scraps of metal."

"That's ENOUGH!" Ironwood's voice was heard behind the door.

I couldn't take it anymore as I grabbed the door and opened it. "Will you stop treating Yang like that!" I finally shouted for once.

Ironwoods turned to me, frowning. "Enrique….. I thought I told you to wait in your dorm? This is a private matter with this team, that you'll know soon…" He crossed his arms.

"Look, I may be solo, but I am not letting my friends be treated like this," I argued.

"Yang Xiao Long attacked a student. You _all_ saw it. She held nothing back and didn't show any signs of hesitation." Ironwoods informed, "And as far as I know, as well as the council, they are to be disqualified for that matter."

"What?" Yang got out.

"That isn't fair!" I said.

"She deliberately attacked a student with no Aura, in front of everyone and the camera." He pointed out, "And since she attacked a student who couldn't defend themselves, they are to be disqualified for that…. Just be glad that was as far as the punishment goes, otherwise the council would've locked her up for that…." He frowned slightly.

I gritted my teeth before I lowered my head in defeat.

"And since, you're here Enrique. I have no other choice but to tell you why I made you stay in your dorm." He said, turning to me, "Enrique… Were you the one who made Yang attack Mercury?"

"What? Hell no!" I argued.

"Enrique would never do that!" Blake glared at him.

"But those Cores would…." He pointed out.

"They wouldn't!"

"And how would you know?" He asked me, "Those Cores are the bane of a Greeed, and have nearly made you into an uncontrollable monster similar to the Greeed. As far as I'm concerned, you are already one of those monsters."

"He's telling the truth, you old military bastard," we turned around to see Ankh.

"Ankh… Don't get caught in this business…." He turned to the Greeed, "Out of everyone, even I still don't trust you or your kind…."

"Say what you want," he huffed. "But those Cores are tamed, and it wouldn't do this. I know what Cores can do."

"Are you sure of that Ankh? Even you yourself didn't know of these Cores until you found out it was made by Gara. How do you know that they haven't turned him into a Greeed, or even a madman like Gara?"

"Because those Cores are no longer inside his body," he pointed at me. "They are now his Aura, only power to protect himself not create that stupid nonsense." He glared at Ironwood. "You and this… 'council' _seriously_ are stupid to not think clearly."

"We are now the only thing left that can stop this threat." He turned to us, "I'm sorry. But the council has decided that Team RWBY are to be disqualified of this Festival. And Enrique to be on watch…."

Ankh's scowl turn into anger, "The only person to watch him is myself and that stupid oden Eater, Akira," he growled. "You stupid military lot can't stop the Greeed if you recall the Gamel incident. You couldn't do shit while Enrique did his best."

"Keep that attitude up Ankh, and you'll be under arrest as well." He said, walking out of the dorm, leaving us alone.

We all remained quiet after that. Silence filling the room as we try to process over what just happened.

"You… you guys believe me right?" Yang asked softly, looking up at all of us. "He… attacked me... I was just defending myself…"

"Duh!" Ruby said.

"You're hotheaded, not ruthless," Weiss shook her head.

"Blake?" Yang asked Blake next. My girlfriend turned her head away.

"I…. I don't know…." She responded softly, Yang's eyes widen softly as some tears form.

"B-Blake?"

"How can you say something like that? Yang would never lie to us!" Weiss exclaimed before looking at me. "I'm sure you believe her, right?"

"I…" I tried to find the right words when Weiss asked me that question. I looked at my friends then at my girlfriend and Yang. I shook my head before looking at Yang, "Yang look, I… don't care what they think. Blake and I know you, you wouldn't do something like this. The only times you do something major would be the times you went to that nightclub Ruby mentioned."

Blake looked at me then at Yang, "And you've never done anything like this before. So... I want to trust you. I will trust you. But first, I need you to look me in the eyes and tell me that he attacked you. I need you to promise me that you regret having to do what you did."

Yang wiped the tears away as she nodded, "He did attack me… And of course I regret my actions." She responded with a soft smile.

Blake looked at Yang before she smile. "Okay. Thank you."

I looked at my friends before I got up from my seat. "I'm gonna head to the garden. I'll be back," I smiled.

Weiss then turned to Blake, "Well? Aren't you going to join him?" She asked, actually teasing her for once.

Blake glared at Weiss who simply shrugged.

* * *

I was in the garden, deep in my thoughts as I looked at the tiny pond that was in the garden. I ran my hand through my hair before letting out a sigh. Yang wouldn't do such a thing and yet she and her team are disqualified...

"Something wrong?" I turned my head to see Akira there, as he walks over, "You seem down..."

"Ruby's team is disqualified for what Yang… supposedly did." I answered. "But she wouldn't do such a thing."

"Damn straight," He nodded, "Knowing those two, Yang would absolutely never break that guy's leg. Even I was wondering how it happened."

I smiled, "You truly are their family friend." Akira chuckled.

"So… I couldn't help but notice those guys over there?" He jabbed his thumb to those robots that look to be on the ground as if something made them turn off.

"Uh, did you do something to them?"

"Nah, the Candroids did," he presented his own set of Unagi Candroids. "Thank the Eel Trio."

"You seriously named that set too?"

"Gotta name them something," he shrugged, making me facepalm. "What? You can't leave them nameless…"

"Well from those robots, that council thinks I should be watched over…"

"Eh? They seriously think that way?" He questioned. "Don't you worry! I will go see Kougami! He has pockets as deep as the trench of Vacuo!"

"Thanks Akira.. you really are helpful… for a strange guy who eats a lot of oden that is."

"It's what I do," he chuckled before he got up and grabbed the milk tank. "Take care and make sure you help out Ruby and Yang. They'll need it, even the Dusty Qrow would agree with me." He walked over the two Atlas robots and left the garden.

I stared at him as he leaves before I decided to leave the garden as well.

"Hey, Enrique!" Sun's voice called out from…. above?

I raised my head to see Sun hanging on one of the lights. "Sun?" He released the grip from his tail and landed on his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"Eh, you know. Hanging around…" He said, as a few banana peels drop out of the tree he was in. "Okay… I was being lazy." He chuckled.

"I can see that," I noticed.

"Is Yang and the others gonna be alright?"

"They're disqualified…" I sighed. "And right now, _I'm_ on watch since they think I would be next to do something. But Akira used those Unagi Candroids and turned those robots off."

"What? That's total BS!" He frowned, "Even though I may not know Yang enough as you all do, even _I_ can tell she wouldn't do that."

"You know… Ankh has been leaving every now and then as if he saw something…." I recalled.

"You think he saw something we didn't?"

"He has the eyes of a hawk, no pun intended," I answered. "He would see everything clearly than any of us…"

"Where is he now?"

"Back at the dorm," I answered.

"Then let's go see him. He might know how it really happened." The Monkey Faunus declared.

For once I had to agree with him. Ankh would have saw something we didn't and asking him will be the best option. The both of us went to my dorm and entered, seeing Ankh on his bunk. "Ankh, did you see anything we couldn't?" I asked. "During the match I mean."

Ankh stared at his Scroll, typing away before saying, "I did."

"Aaannnddd?" Sun tried to get him to reveal.

"Unfortunately, I can't do a thing right now…" He sighed.

"What? Why not!" Sun exclaimed, only to flinch upon seeing the Bird Greeed's glare.

"Watch your tone monkey boy," he warned. "As for my reason, it's simple, it's mine to handle."

"That seems like a load of bull…." He crossed his arms.

"So what? Now if you idiots excuse me, I'm heading in early for the tournament," He waved off as he turned his back to us and left the dorm.

"Well, that was a waste of time…" Sun sighed.

"I know…" I agreed. "But maybe we should watch the tournament too. Maybe we can find out from there."

* * *

 _As the next match was about to start, Ruby was heading into the coliseum to watch the next match. Ruby descends down the steps to an open seat. Despite everything that's happened, she's smiling widely, looking around at the assembled crowds... until her stupefied eyes see a familiar, glaring face on the other side of the arena. "Emerald's… here?" She got out._

 _As if Emerald felt Ruby watching her, she glared at Ruby. The scythe wielder now became worried and runs to the exit tunnel._

 _Something was definitely up! She quickly made her way through what looks to be a maintenance door and finds herself inside of the coliseum. She gained a soft smile, but it quickly vanished as the coliseum vanished, only revealing a dead end wall._

" _Sorry little girl. But you're not going anywhere…." She saw none other than Mercury… and his leg wasn't broken._

" _Mercury…?"_

 _[It looks like our first contender, Penny Polendina from Atlas versus Pyrrha Nikos from Beacon!]_

" _Ohhh… Polarity versus a girl made of metal. Not a good combination…" Mercury smirked._

" _No…"_

 _She tried to get past him but couldn't. Deciding to use her Semblance, she went straight towards him, only for Mercury to stop the attack._

 _Ruby cringed but she reaches for her Scroll, only for a bullet to shatter it into pieces._

" _Let's keep this between us friends," He grins evilly and moves towards her. She moved away as Mercury approached her. However…_

 _Mercury felt a hand grab the back of his neck, choking him. "W-What…" he gasped for air. He slowly looked back to see none other than Ankh._

" _Guess I was right," he huffed. "Then again, I'm always right." He looks at Mercury with a rather malicious grin. "It has been a while since I… killed an enemy. Why not relive my moments as I did in the past?"_

" _Sorry birdbrain. But not this time!" Mercury swerved out for his grip, kicking the Greeed in the chest as the attack made him stumble and release Mercury. The silver haired man coughed and glared at Ankh who seemingly was less amused._

" _Is that a kick? Uva does a better kick then you, human" He delivered a fist to him that he blocked but the Bird Greeed delivered a haymaker across the cheek, bruising Mercury._

 _Ankh shook his hand lightly as if he enjoyed it. "You are lesser than trash in my eyes. Pathetic. You lost to Xiao Long and framed her thanks to that tanned greeny." He unsheathed his blade and got into another stance. "Seeing your eyes, I can guess… hmm… daddy issues?"_

 _Mercury remained quiet, only glaring at Ankh before getting into an attack pose._

" _I take that as a yes, a desire to prove yourself." Ankh mused. "Show that you are something instead of being worthless and possibly from previous beatings."_

 _Mercury gritted his teeth as he tries to keep it together._

" _And I can also guess… those legs of yours are prosthetics? Guess someone cut them off?" He pressed on. "Guess it takes loss of limbs to kill to prove something… I assume you killed the man you hate most? I say, your… father?"_

" _Shut up!" Mercury finally rushed towards Ankh who smirked._

 _Fire formed in his Greeed arm and punched Mercury in the face. "No… you." He smirked as the fire ignited and literally increased the force and sent the brawler away from him and Ruby. There on the ground was Mercury as a part of his face was slightly burnt from Ankh's ability. He covered the side of his face, trying to stop the burning feeling._

" _What a waste," he sighed and walked over to Ruby. "Get up."_

 _Ruby slowly nodded and got up. "Ankh, what-"_

" _Just go and warn them," he scoffed. "I'm already done with one thing that I wanted to do."_

" _But what about you?" She asked with worry._

" _I'll be fine, they are nothing but trash and in my way of getting my body back." He assured. "Just go."_

 _They heard Mercury getting up as his eyes were burning with anger. "I'm not… letting that… happen." He growled._

" _Great…" he sighed. "Guess you want to be burnt alive?"_

" _Heh, wouldn't be the first time I got burnt, chicken feed…" He chuckled softly._

 _Ankh glanced at Ruby then at Mercury before he unsheathed the other blade. "Then I guess I will kill you then." He decided much to Ruby's shock from hearing Ankh._

" _You… can't meant that…." Ruby got out._

" _I told you Rose, I am getting my body back, even if it means to stop those in my way, permanently."_

" _But you can't be serious… He's still a student!"_

" _He isn't," Ankh answered. "Remember that hag gave me access to student files? Theirs are fake but others would think it's real. It takes a very well-trained eye to notice the difference."_

" _Heh… even if you wanted to stop me…." He smirked, "It's far too late now…" He said, turning to where the entrance to the arena would be as both of them heard audible gasps and screams._

 _ **To be continued...**_

* * *

 **Blazing: Taka (x1), Kujaku (x1), Condor (x1)**

 **Scorching: Lion (x1), Tora (x2), Cheetah (x1)**

 **Strongest: Kuwagata (x1), Kamakiri (x1), Batta (x1)**

 **Legendary: Kobura (x1), Kame (x1), Wani (x1)**

 **Water: Shachi (x1), Tako (x1), Unagi (x1)**

 **Gravity: Sai (x1), Gorilla (x1), Zou (x2)**

 **Invincible: Ptera (x1), Tricera (x1), Tyranno (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"P-Penny…" I got out.

' _ **You humans don't know what the troubles you do cause. You are are nothing but walking desires for me**_ _.' Kazari's voice was now heard from the speakers. '_ _ **You think training the kittens, these… Huntsman and Huntresses to fight the enemy when you don't realize the conflict that brews every day.'**_

"So… you are the one called OOO?" He mused. "I never thought it would be a human, fighting the Greeed."

 **Next Time:** PVP, Battle of Beacon, Adam Taurus

* * *

 **A/N:** Well that is it for this chapter Folks! I hope you all enjoyed the chapter as well as the duel between friends. I wish you all a merry Christmas and see you all later! Stay in the shadows everyone and again, Merry Christmas!


	35. Chapter 34: Battle of Beacon,Adam Taurus

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 34th chapter of OOO, the first upload of 2017! We are getting close to the end of the Volume 3 arc! Yay! After all that was going on during the year 2016, it is time for 2017 with a new start of the year. Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc.). (Chapter 39 will be the final chapter for the first season of the story). Also don't forget to check out my newest story, **Overwatch: Key of Destiny (Kamen Rider Gaim x Overwatch).**

Don't forget to check out my other stories as well.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _Mercury felt a hand grab the back of his neck, choking him. "W-What…" he gasped for air. He slowly looked back to see none other than Ankh._

 _"Guess I was right," he huffed. "Then again, I'm always right." He looks at Mercury with a rather malicious grin. "It has been a while since I… killed an enemy. Why not relive my moments as I did in the past?"_

 _"Sorry birdbrain. But not this time!" Mercury swerved out for his grip, kicking the Greeed in the chest as the attack made him stumble and release Mercury. The silver haired man coughed and glared at Ankh who seemingly was less amused._

 _"Is that a kick? Uva does a better kick then you, human" He delivered a fist to him that he blocked but the Bird Greeed delivered a haymaker across the cheek, bruising Mercury._

 _Ankh shook his hand lightly as if he enjoyed it. "You are lesser than trash in my eyes. Pathetic. You lost to Xiao Long and framed her thanks to that tanned greeny." He unsheathed his blade and got into another stance. "Seeing your eyes, I can guess… hmm… daddy issues?"_

 _Mercury remained quiet, only glaring at Ankh before getting into an attack pose._

 _"I take that as a yes, a desire to prove yourself." Ankh mused. "Show that you are something instead of being worthless and possibly from previous beatings."_

 _Mercury gritted his teeth as he tries to keep it together._

 _"And I can also guess… those legs of yours are prosthetics? Guess someone cut them off?" He pressed on. "Guess it takes loss of limbs to kill to prove something… I assume you killed the man you hate most? I say, your… father?"_

 _"Shut up!" Mercury finally rushed towards Ankh who smirked._

 _Fire formed in his Greeed arm and punched Mercury in the face. "No… you." He smirked as the fire ignited and literally increased the force and sent the brawler away from him and Ruby. There on the ground was Mercury as a part of his face was slightly burnt from Ankh's ability. He covered the side of his face, trying to stop the burning feeling._

 _"What a waste," he sighed and walked over to Ruby. "Get up."_

 _Ruby slowly nodded and got up. "Ankh, what-"_

 _"Just go and warn them," he scoffed. "I'm already done with one thing that I wanted to do."_

 _"But what about you?" She asked with worry._

 _"I'll be fine, they are nothing but trash and in my way of getting my body back." He assured. "Just go."_

 _They heard Mercury getting up as his eyes were burning with anger. "I'm not… letting that… happen." He growled._

 _"Great…" he sighed. "Guess you want to be burnt alive?"_

 _"Heh, wouldn't be the first time I got burnt, chicken feed…" He chuckled softly._

 _Ankh glanced at Ruby then at Mercury before he unsheathed the other blade. "Then I guess I will kill you then." He decided much to Ruby's shock from hearing Ankh._

 _"You… can't mean that…." Ruby got out._

 _"I told you Rose, I am getting my body back, even if it means to stop those in my way, permanently."_

 _"But you can't be serious… He's still a student!"_

 _"He isn't," Ankh answered. "Remember that hag gave me access to student files? Theirs are fake but others would think it's real. It takes a very well-trained eye to notice the difference."_

 _"Heh… even if you wanted to stop me…." He smirked, "It's far too late now…" He said, turning to where the entrance to the arena would be as both of them heard audible gasps and screams._

" _N-No…" Ruby's eyes began to well up with tears._

 _Ankh quickly looked at the retreating Mercury as his red eyes flared with anger. "I'm gonna kill you," He snarled as he rushed towards him._

 _Mercury smirked, striking the ground and creating a dust cloud. Once Ankh swings at it, it shows nothing behind it. He escaped them with ease….. he quickly looked at the tunnel leading to the arena, his Greeed arm twitching._

" _They are gonna die by my hands." He growled._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 34: PVP, Battle of Beacon, Adam Taurus**

 _1 Hour Ago…_

Sun and I began to watch the previous footage of the tournament from what Ankh watched and sadly there was no luck on finding out what happened. "How many times did we rewatch the duel between Yang and that Mercury guy?" I asked.

"About 20 times dude…." He groaned, "And I couldn't find anything wrong… She just turned, frowned and shot him."

I crossed my arms as I scratched my head for a moment. "Just how was Ankh able to see what we couldn't?" Sun asked.

"Ankh and the other four Greeed were powerful, they were considered the First Huntsmen if you think about it…" I recalled. "Not to mention… Ankh is the type of person to keep focus, I mean his real body represents a hawk, a peacock, and a condor."

"Three majestic and great birds…" Sun nodded. "Hey wait, you mentioned a hawk right?"

"Yeah?"

"Hawks are known to have sharp precision when it comes to finding their prey and since Ankh has three of his Cores-"

"It allows him to see what we can't just like with Taka helm." I realized.

"So, why not go into that OOO armor and look closer?" He informed.

I nodded as I placed the O-Driver on my waist before placing in the medals.

 **TAKA!**

 **TORS!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

Now in the TaToBa armor, we reminded the footage before we watched it again, only now I used the Taka Helm to focus on what happened.

"Well? See anything?" He asked me.

I didn't reply as I continued to watch until… "pause it, right there." Sun did as he was told as I studied a little more and saw that Yang didn't harm Mercury, not to mention a brief glimpse of metal. Like a prosthetic. "Yang was telling the truth… someone cast an illusion to make people think she injured Mercury."

"But…. how is that even possible? Mercury's Semblance can't do that!" Sun responded, looking closer to see that I was right.

"I know but someone must have done it…"

"But in the stadium? There's a lot of people that watched the match!"

"I know…" I sighed as I stare at the image. "We just have to find out soon…" I pressed the footage once more before we now decided to watch the fight between Pyrrha and… Penny?

"Huh, I guess Penny is gonna be fighting Pyrrha," I observed.

"I'm curious what those two can do? Pyrrha's polarity, and Penny's unique weapons?" He smiled.

"Let's watch." I shrugged.

* * *

 _The two fighters were now in the arena as Penny sees Pyrrha. "Sal-u-tations, Pyrrha Nikos!" She greeted. "It's an honor to finally meet you."_

 _Pyrrha didn't respond due to her troubles from what happened earlier when she was requested by Ozpin. It was a difficult choice to make too… shaking that thought away, she looks at her hands as she clenches them in attempted determination._

 _Penny, however, did not notice Pyrrha's reluctance, "This is going to be so much fun!"_

 _3…_

 _2…_

 _1…_

 _ **BEGIN!**_

 _Penny began the attack, sending four of her blades at Pyrrha as she began to defend and deflect their attacks, before she sent off a few shots at her, only to see Penny blocking the attack._

 _The Atlas student sent a few more swords at the redhead but Pyrrha quickly twirled her javelin and blocked each attack as she winced from the amount of force that was used._

 _[My word! What a tremendous display by Miss Poledina!] Port commented._

 _[Agreed. Penny is doing her best at keeping her distance from Pyrrha, her weapon and Semblance. If this keeps going, Penny will tank over Pyrrha and win the match!" Oobleck added on._

" _Gooo Pyrrha!" Nora cheered for her fellow teammate._

 _Despite the cheers, Pyrrha wasn't doing so well as she looks down to see her Semblance's black energy bend the weapons in her hand unnaturally for a split second. What they didn't know was that Emerald was focused on Pyrrha._

 _Pyrrha spins wildly as she deflects and dodges each sword, until she gets close enough to Penny to deliver a few slashes with the spear, sending her flying back as Pyrrha bats aside the blades called to their wielder's aid. Penny slides to a stop and makes a new series of motions, the weapons folding up until she's circled by several laser rifles, a few of which open fire on the approaching champion. Pyrrha avoids the blasts and fights off the remaining swords with her xiphos until she slides into position to charge at Penny and knock her back. Pyrrha straightens with a victorious grin that disappears into dizziness, just as she sees Penny rocketing forward, weapons firing behind her like a jetpack so she can leap into the air, then come down as an energized meteor on her opponent._

 _Rolling back to her feet, Pyrrha doesn't expect a sword to knock her shield off, then another to do the same for her blade. She tries to get the later back with her magnetism, but has to use the power to send a flying sword back at Penny's side. It disappears behind Penny, only for her to grin and raise her arms as several appear above her person, aimed to strike._

 _With Emerald still squinting down on the arena, the sharp sound of Emerald's Semblance is heard as Penny's eight swords double, then triple, multiplying into an unreal thicket of blades. At the sight of this, Pyrrha unsteadily steps back, both in reality where the eight swords are ready to go forth and in the hallucinated world, where the cloud of weapons thicken to even block the crowds around her._

 _Penny sends them all forward, few in reality and hundreds strong in Pyrrha's mind, who is left with no choice but to spread her arms and send out a magnetized shockwave. Each blade is sent reeling back to Penny, who is also unintentionally affected by the Semblance attack. Pyrrha only has a brief moment to understand what's happening before Penny's arms are spread wide as she gasps, the strings attached to her own weapons curling around her left arm and midsection, which are crumpled by the force with the ease of an aluminum can._

 _There is a moment of darkness, cut by the wire slicing through the electronics in Penny's torso to reveal a shocked Pyrrha, and the entire stadium watching the now unmoving swords drop to the ground. A piece of fabric flutters to the arena floor, only to be pinned by the point of a falling blade, away from the torn halves of Penny Polendina._

 _Pyrrha stares in abject horror, eyes wide and mouth agape._

* * *

My eyes widen in utter horror upon what I saw. "P-Penny…" I got out, memories of what happened to my family slowly returning.

"By Oum…." Sun was unable to say anything we sat there in horror.

They were not able to stop the broadcast as a new but a very familiar voice was heard in the broadcast. " _This is not a tragedy. This was not an accident. This is what happens when you hand over your trust, your safety, your children, to men who claim to be our guardians but are, in reality, nothing more than men."_

"That voice…" I realized, my hands clenching.

"You know who it is?"

"Cinder Fall." My hands clenched tightly. No wonder there was something about her… the reason why she wanted me to join her group… I truly felt disgusted...

" _Our Academies' Headmasters wield more power than most armies, and one was audacious enough to control both."_ She continued.

"What is she going on about?" Sun frowned, trying to change the channel, but every station showed the exact same thing.

" _And what, I ask you, is Ozpin teaching his students? First a dismemberment, now this? Huntsmen and Huntresses should carry themselves with honor and mercy, yet I have witnessed neither."_ She stated. _"As someone who hails from Mistral, I can assure you the situation there is... equally undesirable. Our Kingdoms are on the brink of war, yet we, the citizens, are left in the dark."_

" _ **You humans don't know what the troubles you can cause. You are nothing but walking desires, to live, to thrive and survive.**_ _.'_ Kazari's voice was now heard from the speakers _. '_ _ **You think training the kittens, these… Huntsman and Huntresses to fight the enemy when you don't realize the conflict that brews every day. So we ask you: When the first shots are fired... who do you think you can trust?"**_

We saw the screen go static and then black from what we heard.

"We have to get to the arena now…." Sun demanded, standing up, "I have a feeling they'll need our help…" He then looked at me, seeing me still in shock from what happened to Penny. "Enrique, come on," he shook me slightly.

I looked at Sun for a moment before lowering my head.

"Enrique…. You alright?" He asked me.

"Penny… she's.. she's…" I trembled as I grasp my head in fear. My breathing becomes heavy and rapid as my heart was pounding as my memory of that day that my mom and little sister died in front of me came back.

"Enrique!" Sun shook me, "Snap out of it!"

I looked at Sun, "Sun, I…"

"You don't have to say anything, dude…. But you need to be strong, we need to get there now and help out…." Sun pointed at the window. As I turn around, I quickly see several airships heading towards the coliseum.

We also heard sirens as the television displayed an alert of Grimm breach. I quickly looked at the window to see smoke in the distance. I even noticed Bullheads heading to our direction but what caught my attention were the logos on them. "Sun… I think we are about to have company…"

Sun looked out the window as we both saw the airships of the White Fang heading towards the cliff side of the school.

* * *

 _In Vale, the citizens were running for their lives from the Grimm. From the center of the city, far from the Breach, Kougami witnessed the event unfold._

" _Kougami! We have a level 9 Breach by the east side of the city!" Ms. Haven informed._

" _I know…" he said before reaching to his desk and pressed a hidden switch by his mini oven. When it happened, a screen appeared on his desk. "All RideVendors! Initiate Operation: King! I repeat, initiate Operation: King!"_

 _Several people, now wearing unique armor all grabbed a case of Cell Medals, along with prototype Birth Busters as they reached the RideVendors. Each one inserting a medal as they form the bike._

" _Ms. Haven, you said you wished to go into combat again, correct?" Kougami asked with a smile._

" _Yes…. I do." She nodded._

" _Then go. Contact Felix and send the Airships to evacuate the civilians to the residential district."_

" _Which airships?"_

" _All."_

 _Ms. Haven could only grin as she quickly left the room as a few RideVendor soldiers guarded the room. Underground, the RideVendors were loading up as they began to grab Birth Busters. Others were readying the airships for evacuation of all civilians._

" _Let's go! Let's go, everyone! We got a job to do!" Felix commanded. "You know what we do! Kill Grimm and show what we RideVendors are trained for!"_

" _Yes, sir!"_

* * *

I rushed over to Team RWBY's dorm since Yang was the only one here and banged the door. "YANG! We got the White Fang landing by the cliff side!"

Yang opened up, some fire in her eyes, "I know. I was waiting for you two to get ready." She said.

"Yang, you were really right. Someone was framing you for injuring Mercury. You didn't break them, his legs are prosthetics."

"Wait, what?"

I tapped the Taka helm. "Ankh was able to see it because of Taka Core," I explained. "He must have noticed it from the very start of that match..."

"Grr… that bastard….. This time, I will aim for him, and mean it…." she growled, cracking her knuckles.

"Let's go!" Sun, Yang, and I went in different directions as we went to help the students get away from the place. The sound of Grimm, the gunshots we were hearing as some of the Knights try to fight back but were ripped to pieces. It was like a war zone… this is what my dad must have been through during his days in combat….

I shook my head as I use the Tora claws to claw down a Beowolf before kicking away another. Damn it… damn it… I shook my head to keep it together, not wanting to suffer another panic attack. The sound of the gunshots reminded me of the storm and the screaming reminded me of myself when I saw my mom's dead body.

"Stay right there!" I darted my head to the side to see a few White Fang Soldiers, their weapons aimed at me.

"On your knees, human…." One of the demanded, pointing a rifle at my head.

"Isn't that the armored guy that Kazari told our leader about?"

"Who cares? He moves, he dies like the rest of them."

I gritted my teeth before I tackled the one in the middle and punched him. The other two quickly aimed at me but I reacted thanks to my helmet and kicked their guns in the air before head butting the one on my left and I unsheathed Medajalibur and pointed at the other soldier's neck.

"Che, you wouldn't dare…. You're nothing but a pathetic Huntsman…" He smirked.

"I don't kill…" I responded before punching the daylights out of him, knocking him out. "But I'm willing to knock you out."

"Enrique?" I turn my head to see Blake walking towards me.

"Blake what are you do-" I stopped as I felt the helm glow before the lenses adjusted my vision.

"Is something wrong?" She asked me, as I see her reaching for her twin pistols. Wait… twin pistols?

I quickly leaped over to avoid the shots as my helmet fully revealed the imposter being Emerald. "Emerald," I gritted my teeth.

"I told her this wouldn't have worked…" She sighed, "Sorry, nothing personal. But you need to die."

The Tora Claws unfolded as I sheathed the Medajalibur. I got into the signature stance as I stare down at the woman. "It explains why Yang wasn't seeing things. It was _your_ Semblance that made Yang look like she did it."

"Guess you figured it out…. Though won't help you live longer…" She responded, sending several bullets at me. I used the Batta Legs and Taka helm and avoided each shot. I rushed towards her and delivered a strike that she blocked but when she tried to attack me, my helmet helped me as I ducked before using my armor to kick her left leg.

She rolled away when I thrust the left Tora claw down into the ground, avoiding what would have been a stab to her chest before I blocked her next attack.

"As much as I want to keep going… don't you have a certain Faunus to find?" She questioned.

My eyes widened. I used the cool air before I thrust my arm, the ice forming a wall between us as I quickly ran back as I grabbed my Scroll when I heard it ring. "Blake, guys, are you all alright!?" I responded.

" _Weiss and I are in the fairgrounds on our way to Beacon_ ," Blake's voice replied. " _Ruby and the others are being evacuated from the coliseum."_

" _You better hurry, animal boy! I don't wanna see our leader in tears…"_ Weiss's voice responded before hanging up on me.

I looked at the fairgrounds from the distance. "I'm on my way," I muttered before striking down an Ursa.

* * *

 _Ankh grabbed the Beowolf by the neck as he watched it turn into ashes from his fire. He looks over at the students by the landing pad along with Ironwood. "You better make it fast." He said to the general._

" _The last one will be here soon. Please, let us keep defending these Grimm and White Fang off for the students to get to safety." He pleaded, shooting down any enemy that approaches them._

 _Ankh growled as he grabbed a White Fang soldier and tossed him out of the landing pad. "Says the one for making a machine!" He barked, thrusting the sword into a Griffon and incinerated it. "If it wasn't for your stupidity that 'Penny' wouldn't have ended up like scrap! I should burn you on the spot!"_

" _Ankh, calm down…" Ruby pleaded._

 _Ankh glared at her before seeing her as realization dawned on him. "Sara…" he quickly looks at the city from the distance. He growled before seeing an incoming White Fang bullhead. "Screw it…" he walked back before he rushed past Ironwood and the students before jumping._

" _Where are you going?!" Ironwood shouted._

 _They watched as Ankh crashed through the cockpit of the White Fang. They heard many gunshots before they witness the White Fang soldiers before tossed out. The airship regained control showing that Ankh actually hijacked a Bullhead._

" _That Greeed is crazier than I thought…." Ironwood sighed before returning to halt the advances of the enemies._

 _With Ankh his mind was racing as his old memories came back in his head. The loss of that little girl he met back then… her death when the Greeed chose to wreak havoc on the old kingdom._

' _Promise you will protect me, Ankhy?' The voice of the girl in the past replayed in his mind._

 _Ankh gritted his teeth before noticing an Atlesian airship, seeing some smaller ones being shot down from it. He squinted his eyes and saw a small glimpse of the criminal Roman and the Neo girl. Thanks to his eyes, he noticed they were placing something into the ship's system._

 _He growled before pressing the button on his Scroll. "Oi, oden eater, if you hear me, the large airship has been taken over by that Roman punk and ice cream."_

" _Uh…. one little problem Ankh… Ruby shot up there not too long ago…" Akira responded, embarrassingly._

" _Then go help her you idiot!" He shut off the comms before the airship was nearing the city. He saw a Nevermore heading towards his direction. He looked back and saw some Dust then at the incoming Grimm. He quickly rushed to the side door and slammed t open before he conjured a fireball at the bag of Dust as the ship was close to the rooftops. "Eat this." He kicked the controls, making it fly upwards while he leaped off onto the rooftop._

 _The ship exploded with the Nevermore as Ankh looked around the area. "Sara! Sara!" He called out._

 _A faint scream can be heard. From afar, near and alley, Sara was backed up against the wall. Her leg injured and bleeding as several Beowolves surrounded her. Drooling with the intent to kill and devour this girl. "Ankh…. Please help me…" She whimpered in fear as she felt them approaching her._

 _However, she could only hear their howls, the sound of a sword stabbing them, even feeling the heat as if something burned the Beowolves. She didn't know what to do until she felt a familiar claw on her cheek. She never forgot how it felt, the warmth… the armored feathers it had._

" _Sara," Ankh's voice called to her._

" _A-Ankh?" She got out, only to hug the Greeed happily as she smiled, "You saved me…."_

 _Ankh was quiet for a moment before noticing the machines now firing at civilians. Guess his instincts were right after all. "Damn it… we have to get you out of here…"_

" _But how…" she covered her ears from the gunshots and screaming of the civilians that were being harmed by the once helpful machines._

 _Ankh clenched his hands until the sound of vehicles were heard. He looked to the side and saw what he couldn't believe. The RideVendor soldiers as some were wearing their gear. One of the soldiers stopped in front of Ankh, flipping the helmet up. "Birdbrain…"_

" _You again…" he huffed. "I take it this is that old bastards idea?"_

" _Operation: King. It's one task in case something like this occurs." He shoots one of the Knights, destroying it. "We are escorting all civilians into the residential district. The rest of us are fighting back against Grimm and these scrap heads."_

 _Ankh glanced at Sara then at Felix. "Take her there." He ordered, gently placing Sara on the bike._

" _Ankh what are you doing?" She turned her head to his voice._

" _I'm doing what I can to protect you, Sara…. This place is too dangerous and you need to be in a safer area." He answered her._

" _But.."_

" _I lost someone before…" he confessed. "I rather not make that mistake again."_

 _Felix revved the engine and drove away as Ankh heard Sara cry out for him._

 _Ankh sighed as he glanced back, seeing some of the Knights aiming at him. "You want to die?" His eyes flared as his Greeed arm, and a silhouette of his right wing formed. "Then I will kill you all!" He lunged at them._

* * *

As I pried open the door and kicked it down, seeing some of the students. "You guys go! Everyone is heading to the landing pad for evacuation!"

The students nodded as they quickly exited the room. I motioned them to leave quickly as the robots were fighting the Grimm. When the last student escaped from the room, I noticed the three Atlesian Knights stop for a moment. I was confused at first until their 'visors' glowed red and aimed their guns at me!?

I quickly leaped to cover as they began to fire at me. I looked at the Tora Claws for a moment before I hopped over and rushed towards the robots. Using the Tora Claws, I thrusted the claws into one and used it as a shield.

The gunshots came in contact with the Knight as I rush forward before tossing it to one and quickly used the claws the cleave them into pieces.

Panting, I was left with questions to why the Atlas Knights have turned against us. Even more the gunshots I can hear continuously was affecting me.

I took deep breaths to calm myself down before I focused on the task at hand.

"Damn it…" I gritted my teeth as I shook my head again, flashbacks of that day returning in my head. The chaos was starting to get to me…

"Enrique!" I turned to see Sun who rushed up to me. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine but we got a problem," I responded before noticing more Atlas Knights as they surrounded us. "A big problem..."

"This can't be good," Sun grimaced as the both of us charged towards the Knights to fight them off.

* * *

Ruby landed on the main airship thanks to her idea! And now, she has to stop Roman who has control of the ship. Just as she was about to get inside, Neo showed up and delivered a kick that sent her back a bit. Seeing the red-hooded girl, Neo took a photo and sent it to Roman.

With the said man, his Scroll ringed as he looked to see a photo of Ruby with the message saying from Neo, " _Guess who is back_?"

"Again with this girl?!" He growled before he decided it was time to finish off the girl with Neo's help.

With Ruby, she performs a low swing, with Neo somersaulting over it, and ducking the next swing, before performing another backflip to dodge the third. Ruby then twirls Crescent Rose before attempting another low sweep, only for Neo to backflip away from her consecutive twirls. Once Ruby finishes spinning her weapon, she lodges Crescent Rose on the hull and fires a shot, only for Neo to shatter in an illusion, revealing Roman as he fires a shot back with Melodic Cudgel, sending Ruby flying several feet, before she lodges Crescent Rose to safely grip herself from the surrounding gales, while Roman walks up to her.

"Well if it ain't little red!" He laughed. "You are just determined to be the hero of Vale, aren't ya?"

"Why? Why do all of this?" She demanded to know. "Without these ships, the Grimm will destroy everything!"

"That's the plan!" He aimed his cane at her until gunshots hit in between Neo and Roman. They looked up to see Birth with the Cutter Wings, carrying the Birth Buster.

"Oi, you wanna mess with my friend's daughter?! Then you have to deal with me as well!" He fired more Cell Medal Rounds at the two criminals.

"Uncle Akira!" Ruby beamed.

"Ugh… another party crasher. And just who are you supposed to be, old man?" Roman asked.

"The name's Birth! Kamen Rider Birth!" He placed in a medal, twisting the knob.

 _ **BREAST CANNON**_

Now equipped with Cutter Wings and Breast Cannon, he aimed at the two. "And it's time to start earning!" He fired an energy beam at the two. Neo and Roman rolled out of the way, the blast hitting the ship as smoke flew out of it, leaving a hole where it hit.

"Ugh… Neo? Handle the old fart. Little Riding Hood is mine." Roman ordered as he began to head towards Ruby.

Birth fired more and more beams from the air as Neo avoided or blocked the attacks but whenever she blocks them, the impact had a lot of force since it looked like it doesn't use Dust at all. She glared at the flying Rider who fired another energy beam at her.

She simply smirked bowing before she shattered into glass, surprising the Rider from that image.

"Eh?" He looked at the parts of the ship, wondering where she went. Even from the air, he was confused by what he just saw.

Neo reformed behind him as she jabbed her weapon into his side, striking and casting sparks off of his armor. She giggled with a muted smile as she licked her blade before stabbing him more.

"Oi! OI!" He tried to shake her off as he flew around the ship. He tried twirling, spinning, even flying high and low just to make her release him. She flipped around before jabbing her weapon straight through his wing, causing it to catch on fire and begin to lose altitude.

"Not the Cutter Wing!" Birth panicked as Neo hopped off and landed safely. Roman took notice of it as well, "Well Red looks like you're about to lose one!"

Ruby saw Birth losing control of the Cutter Wings as he was flying around like crazy. He then crashed into the side of the ship, only for him to hold onto the edge.

"Akira!" Ruby called out, trying to help, only to be struck by Neo and Roman together as the ice cream haired girl begins to approach Birth. She glanced at Birth who nearly lost his grip on the edge. He saw her sadistic eyes as they changed color.

"Now, Neo… That little girl doesn't belong to you… Give her back…" Roman smirked as Neo nodded in response as she let go of her, causing Ruby to drop off of the airship.

Akira saw a brief image of a certain woman in Ruby's place, making his eyes widened. "NOO!" He released his grip and fell off the ship. He reached his arm out and grabbed Ruby's hand. "Ruby, hang on!" He looked at his Cutter Wings then at his Driver. ' _I'm not letting you down, Summer…'_ he recalled the promise he made to his dear friend.

* * *

 _Flashback…._

" _Akira…." Summer called out to him, her body torn up from the Grimm as blood began to pool under her. Her face was pale as she was fading fast, "P-Please… promise me…" She panted softly, gripping his hand, "Please… protect… my daughters…. Ruby and Yang…. P-Please protect them with... All of your might… This… is my last… request…"_

" _No! I am getting you out of here! Just hang on!"_

" _Akira…. Y-You… You know as well… as I do… that I'm not long for… this world anymore…." She said, her pulse and life beginning to run out, "I'm… asking you this… from one… friend to another…. Please… promise me… That you'll protect them? Help Taiyang watch over them..."_

 _Akira's eyes welled up with tears. The woman in his arms was someone who was a dear friend to him. Ever since he enrolled in Beacon, he met Summer when she was a second year while he was a first year._

" _I… I promise, Summer," he promised, tears finally escaping from his eyes._

 _She smiled softly, her eyes slowly closing, "Thank…. You…. Akira…." She let out one last breath before her body went limp._

 _Akira cried as he hugged her body close to him, the loss of his best friend. The loss of a fellow Hunter… the loss of someone who was like family to him. "I won't let you down, Summer… You'll see!" He promised in tears._

 _Flashback over..._

* * *

 _ **BREAST CANNON!**_

 _ **CUTTER WING!**_

 _ **SHOVEL ARM!**_

 _ **CRANE ARM!**_

 _ **DRILL ARM!**_

 _ **CATERPILLAR LEGS!**_

The two criminals looked back to see a blur fly up before landing in front of them with an audible boom. There in front of them was Birth, equipped with all of the parts of the Birth System. In his left arm was Ruby as he gently sets her down before glaring at the criminals.

"Oh joy... He can change his boxers as well…" Roman groaned, looking at Neo, "Remind me to smack the OOO kid later, will ya?"

She nodded before the two saw Birth charge towards them. They quickly dodged the attack but Birth swung Shovel arm at Neo, sending her away from Roman before using the Caterpillar legs and kicked Roman back.

"Gaugh!" He yelped in pain, moving back before sending several shots at the Rider.

Birth took to the sky as Roman tried to fire every _single_ shot at him but the Rider avoided each one with ease. "Just die already!" He shouted. "Neo! Take him down!"

She nodded, vanishing quickly before reappearing behind him, her weapon raised high, along with her parasol. But a quick flick from a rock, struck her parasol, and opened up, dragging the girl away from the fight as she began to float away from the ship. Ruby was sitting there, a piece of the ship in her hand as she tossed it to Roman.

"NEO!" Roman called out before glaring at the two heroes. "You two are in for it now!"

Birth rushed towards Roman and delivered a head butt to his head, literally making his bowler cap fly away while the Rider kicked him down. "Not today."

"Grr….. You lousy Hunters…" He groaned, "Do you really think you can stop, this?!" He points to the chaos of Vale.

"It's better to stop those who caused this mess!"

"You two wanna be heroes!? Then play the part and die like every other huntsmen!" He aimed at cane at the two until Birth used the Breast Cannon to stop the attack.

"Heroes may have died…" Birth said. "But their names will never be forgotten!"

"Hehehe… HAHAHA!" He started cackling, "You think, you two are heroes? Let me give you something… There are no heroes!" He shouted, cracking his cane against Birth's weapon, "The world, doesn't care about you and your beliefs." He then took a shot at Ruby, "And no matter what you do, you won't be able to live in this world without sacrifice!" He cracked his cane at Ruby.

Birth glanced behind Roman, seeing some Grimm then at him. "You want a sacrifice!?" Birth used Crane Arm that hooked onto Roman's coat, "Then you can have it!" He tossed Roman into the air before the Rider quickly embraced Ruby, shielding her from what was about to happen to Roman.

The only thing they heard was a loud crunch, followed by some squishing like noise followed by a belch and screech from the Grimm.

"A-Akira…? Y-You…" Ruby tried to get out what happened, but decided to hug him instead, "Thank you…"

"Your mother made promise to make sure you and Yang stay safe… I don't go back on my word." He replied. "Come on, I need to get you off this ship so we can help the others."

* * *

I ran and ran as I continued to strike down the Knights when they suddenly turned on us. Whatever happened, someone must have made these machines go rogue.

Striking down another Knight, I took deep breaths as I shook my head again. This chaos… it was really affecting me… every time… I keep reliving my memories of that day…

"Hey! Enrique, snap out of it!" Sun shouted, striking a few Knights down as well.

"I-I am…" I responded before using the Batta Legs to kick one of the machines away from me.

"Geez… what is even going on? Why is Atlas attacking us?" He questioned.

"How should I know?" I responded as we both took cover.

"First they helped us then they went rogue?" Sun noted. "This doesn't make sense!"

We ducked from the incoming bullets before I looked over before I placed in three Cell Medals into the Medajalibur, scanning them.

 **TRIPLE SCANNING CHARGE!**

I quickly got out of cover before delivering a slash at the machines, cutting through reality before it repaired itself while the machines weren't so lucky as they exploded into pieces.

"This doesn't make any sense…. What is going on here?" He panted before taking notice of me.

I grasp my head as I try to calm myself down. ' _No more… please stop…'_ I whimpered in thought. I shook my head again before I continued to remind myself that I had to keep it together… I have to keep it together…

"Are you sure you will be alright?" Sun asked.

"I'll be fine."

"You don't look alright…. I think you should get some place safe…" Sun offered.

"I said I'm fine," I responded. "We have to focus on getting everyone out of here. Right now, our task is to get them out of Beacon while stopping the White Fang and these now rogue machines."

"Enrique…. It's obvious to me, that you are not alright… What's going on with you?" He asked.

"I told you I'm fine, okay?!" I finally snapped. "We can't let them kill these people! I don't want to lose anyone again!"

"Enrique…." He frowned, "You need to calm down, if you fight with a head like that, you will lose. And I don't want to tell Blake about what happened."

I stared at Sun a little more before taking deep breaths, "Alright…" I picked up my blade before I noticed Yang heading somewhere. Where was she heading to?

I looked back at Sun, "Sun, can you handle it from here?"

"Just make sure you take it easy, or at least be aware, alright man?" He smiled, patting my shoulder

"Alright," I nodded before I quickly rushed to where Yang was heading to.

* * *

 _Blake was running just outside the dining hall. However, she stops when the Beowolf from earlier latches onto the side of the building above her. Her attention is then drawn away from the Beowolf when she hears a wounded scream inside the burning interior of the dining hall. She then gives a look of horror when she sees a familiar figure throw an Atlas soldier._

 _The figure in question is a tall man with red hair that spikes backwards in a windswept way. While most of his hair is red, a portion of it in the back is brown. A noticeable trait of his appearance is the mask he wears, which obscures his eyes and upper face. His Faunus heritage appears to be that of a bull, as two horns can be seen on either side of his head._

 _The mask is whitish-tan with red, Japanese style, flame-like symbols decorating the front, and two slits on each side, presumably to allow for vision. He also wears a long-sleeved black trench coat with slit sleeves and more red designs and a white symbol on the left side. His trench coat is red on the inside with red flame-like accents at the bottom and a large emblem on the back, with a white tulip design covered by a red rose design. He wears long black pants and black shoes that are red on the bottom, and black gloves with more red emblems on their forehand, appearing to be a variant of the Greek letter Ω (Omega), the last letter in the Greek alphabet. He was also wearing a black belt with white domino marks on it._

" _No... Adam?" She uttered in horror._

" _Hello, my darling," The now named man grinned creepily._

 _Seeing the image of her former partner before her, Blake backed up instinctively. She froze when Adam's voice rang out over the crackling fires and screaming people. "Running away again, my love? Is that what you've become? A coward?" Adam let out a sickening chuckle. "We were destined to change the world… to light the fires of a global revolution." Blake watched in horror as Adam pressed his boot down on the chest of an Atlesian student, drawing Wilt out of its sheath and preparing to stab down into the student. "Consider this the-"_

 _Adam was cut off as Blake propelled herself forward, using her shadow as an accelerant. Gambol Shroud's blade connected with Wilt, sending sparks flying in all directions as the Dust-infused blade clashed with Blake's. Adam, while caught off guard, was easily able to hold back Blake's attempt to overpower him. He let out another spine-chilling laugh as the narrow slits of his mask seemed to glare directly through Blake's eyes. "You really should have run."_

" _I'm...not… running," she growled._

" _You…_ will _."_

 _At that, Adam sent a powerful kick into Blake's stomach, knocking her off her feet. Blake quickly redirected herself as she fell, landing on her feet and staring Adam down. "I really wish you ran, sweetheart." Adam said, giving a predatory grin. "But since you're here… I'm going to make you pay for betraying our cause."_

 _Adam quickly drew Wilt again, lunging at Blake and forcing her back. Blake held out against the superior strength of the Bull Faunus for a short time, but he eventually came to overpower her, knocking her to the ground with a quick series of jabs and feints, eventually culminating in her having her back slammed against a stone pillar, a few cracks forming in the marble. In a rather impressive display of dexterity, Adam slashed down with Wilt, severing the cable connecting Gambol Shroud's blade to the sheath. He casually kicked the severed blade aside, his grip going white-knuckled under his gloves. "This could've been our day, damnit! Can't you see that?!"_

 _"This isn't what I wanted!" Blake shouted, her voice coming out with a slight waver. "I wanted equality, not this!" She attempted to fire a few rounds from Gambol Shroud's pistol at Adam, but he deftly intercepted the metal slugs with the flat of Wilt's blade, causing it to glow slightly brighter._

 _"What you want is impossible!" Adam shouted, kicking Blake right in the side of the head… hard. Blake gasped as the steel tip of Adam's boot connected with her right orbital bone, scattering stars across her vision. Adam's voice changed in a mood swing that would have given Blake whiplash, immediately going from hostile to an almost beckoning tone. "And what I want… is you, Blake."_

 _In Blake's stunned and dazed state, she was unable to act against Adam's boot pressing down on her wrist, wrenching the pistol form of Gambol Shroud out of her grip, and kicking it aside. "All I wanted was for you to stand by me while we put a stop to the damned Humans-"_

 _"What can you do to stop them?!" Blake shouted, catching Adam off guard. "Look out there!" Blake couldn't tell, but Adam's gaze flickered over to the shattered window for a moment. "What can you do to stop that?!"_

 _Adam scoffed, looking down at the already-forming bruise on the upper cheek of his old partner. "While I'm out there, making those humans feel the pain our people have felt for centuries… I will make it my mission to destroy everything you love."_

 _Blake's eyes widened as she heard the all-too-familiar sound of the Blonde brawler shouting her name. From the window behind Adam, Blake could make out the long blonde mane rushing towards the cafeteria, batting a Knight aside with her sheer strength. Her eyes darted around the area, looking for Blake as she called her name. "Starting with her…" Adam finished, standing upright and smiling a broad, predatory, malicious smile. He twirled Wilt around in his hand, stabbing down directly through Blake's left side, eliciting a scream from the raven-haired Faunus girl._

 _Yang whipped around, spotting the coat-wearing White Fang leader, his blade running clean through Blake's side. She blinked once, not believing the sight before her. In that single blink, her eyes shifted from their normal lilac hue to a bright, menacing red. "Get away from her!" Yang shouted, deploying Ember Celica and propelling herself towards the sword-bearer with a pair of fired rounds from her gauntlets. Blake was powerless to shout for her to stop, her body seized up from having the searing blade of Wilt stabbed through her._

 _Adam saw the numerous, blatant openings in the Blonde's careless attack, deciding to take the path of least resistance. He pulled Wilt out of Blake's side, slashing in a diagonal towards the lunging blonde. His small grin turned to a broad smile as he saw her right arm sever from her body. He caught a quick glimpse of the deep, seared cut that his blade left across her stomach and lower ribcage, letting out a chuckle as she thudded against the marble floor of Beacon's cafeteria. "Weak…" He muttered to himself, strolling over towards the blonde._

 _As he turned towards the blonde, whipping the blood from his blade, Blake threw herself between him and the brawler, glaring daggers at him through amber eyes filled with unshed tears._ " _Goodbye, Blake," Adam said before he swung his ninjato at her._

 _Blake closed her eyes as she held Yang, waiting for her demise even with the injury in her abdomen._

 _ ***CLANG!***_

 _Blake slowly opened her eyes and saw a familiar black and blue blade. She turned her head a bit and saw a familiar figure in the TaToBa armor. "Enrique…"_

* * *

"Enrique…" Blake uttered in surprise.

I nodded as I kicked Adam back before going into my stance. "Get Yang out of here, I'll handle this," I ordered.

She looked at me before she reluctantly nodded as she retreated while helping Yang. Once the two escaped, I glared at the Faunus as I gripped the handle of the Medajalibur tightly. "You won't harm my friends, bastard," I growled.

"So… you are the one called OOO?" He mused. "I never thought it would be a human, fighting the Greeed."

"Well guess what?" I started. "I may be human but I have my purpose to help my friends and the innocent."

"We will see about that." He got his weapon ready as I got mine into the stance.

We stare at each other for my green lenses met his Grimm mask. I charge towards him as I swung the blade, only for him to block it with his ninjato and struck my armor before I parried his next attack and struck him from the side and used the Batta Legs to deliver a double kick to his chest.

He stumbled back a bit before a murderous and psychotic grin appeared on his face. "I am gonna enjoy killing you." He vowed.

Guess it's time to use what I have been taught by Ankh.

Adam charged towards me before I quickly raised my blade to block it as our blades locked. I gritted my teeth before I brought out the Tora Claws from my right arm and attempted to strike him. He avoided the attack but he placed his hand on his cheek, noticing that I managed to deliver a cut. He flicked the blood away. "You are gonna pay for that."

"Bring it on," I growled.

The Faunus charged ahead, sheathing his blade before kneeing me in my stomach before tossing me aside. He then brought up a discarded pistol before sending several shots at me first, before punching my chest.

I gritted my teeth before using the Taka Helm to predict his incoming attacks as I block them or counter with the Medajalibur. He, on the other hand, brought up his sheath, blocking my blade before he brought out his, quickly slashing my chest as sparks bleed off from it.

"Pathetic… to think you're the one who fought those Greeed..." He spat, slashing me again before kicking me back. "I'll make you bleed before I force her watching me end everything she cares about… She won't ever defy me again."

He quickly sheathed his blade, making a single swipe as more and more sparks began to flow out from my suit. It hurt… He was tough… Tough as a Greeed before he started to use his fists to damage me further, "You humans… You are the reason for everything in this world… Every war, ever drop of blood, every life taken…. You're even worse than the Grimm and Greeed…." He spat out.

I quickly block his next attack and punched his chest, sending him back a bit. Using Tora Claws, I began to strike him rapidly with each swipe.

"All you ever do is take, and take, and take until there is nothing left but a corpse. You are the reason we exist, human!" He shouted, punching me hard and tossing me back.

I coughed from the punch as I got up on one knee before standing up completely.

"What's the difference?"

Adam, confused, paused, "Excuse me?"

"What's the difference between humans and Faunus? Why does there have to be differences? It's stupid! It doesn't make sense!" I shouted in disgust. "Why do both races have to deal with this?! The only difference is that _you_ are the reason why they are hating the Faunus! _You_ are the reason why the White Fang do this! _You_ are nothing but a man who drives fear into people _including_ to your own kind! The difference between humans and Faunus is nothing for both races are people! People with lives, people who care about others! People who are willing to protect those they care about!"

I focused on my Semblance as the PuToTyra Cores were forming from my Aura. Once they were in my hand, I switched the TaToBa Combo with the PuToTyra and scanned the Medals.

 **PTERA!**

 **TRICERA!**

 **TYRANNO!**

 **PU-TO-TYRA NO ZAURUS~!**

Ice began to form around the area, dousing the fire before the ice shattered as it revealed my PuToTyra armor. My lenses flashed before I dug my hand into the ground and pulled out the Medagabryu. I focused on my Semblance once again, causing the entire room to be covered in ice.

"You think a little ice scares me? Your form change doesn't frighten me…. Boy." He spat in disgust. He converted his sword into its gun form and fired a shot at my helmet… only for it to not faze me one bit.

"What?!"

I rushed towards him and swung my axe down at him, his Aura affected by the attack. When he tried to swipe his blade at me, it was useless as I wasn't fazed and didn't stagger or stumble only to continue to deliver more and more punches or slashes at him.

"What… are you?" He yelped, being pushed back for once in his life.

"I am Kamen Rider...OOO," I answered, using the tail and swung him to the other side of the room. I marched towards him and grabbed him before throwing him to the side.

He tumbled to the ground, panting and growling as part of his mask fell off, showing only his blood red eyes and a snarl that showed his rage. "You… you worthless human… I will not fall this day…." He gripped his blade.

I picked up the Medajalibur, now wielding the axe and the sword and rushed towards him, the both of us now clashing our weapons against each other.

"If you think you can win, you're solely mistaking… I will get Blake, and I will end her friends! She will never defy my will again!" He shouted, pushing with all of his might.

"You are not gonna hurt my friends or anyone else," I growled, blocking his next attack before delivering a head butt to his face.

I swung the Medagabryu and Medajalibur as Adam was blocking the attacks. He knew that he couldn't handle the Full Combo that I was in. I blocked Adam's next attack with the Medajalibur as he gritted his teeth.

"Your nothing but a vermin," he growled. "I won't be defeated by a mere human like you."

Oh, if only he knew how close I was to losing my humanity. Nearly becoming a full-powered Greeed but now becoming a Semblance instead as the last three Cores act as additional Aura but can subject me to Greeedification if I use too much power.

"Well you have another thing coming, Adam," I said as I heard the roar of the Tyrannosaurus rex behind my helmet. The Tyranno tail sprout out before wrapping around his leg.

I used some of the power to swing him to the wall before I used the Ice Stingers, piercing the remaining Aura he has left then it pierced his shoulders as this caused him to grit his teeth in pain. At least I am not using a lot of power or I would be a Greeed again.

"There's a saying I heard back home," I stated. "An eye for an eye. It is the principle that a person who has injured another person is to be penalized to a similar degree, or in softer interpretations, the victim receives the value of the injury in compensation." I looked at him with the Medagabryu held tightly in my grip.

This was something I will regret doing but this is what he deserves for what he did to Yang. For what he did to the innocent people, to Blake. This is the price he gets. "And you are about to receive that degree."

Using the Ice Stingers, I brought him to me quickly before I used the axe mode of the Medagabryu to deliver a forceful strike to his right arm, severing it as he was now against the wall, covering his newly obtained wound.

I held the bile that was in my throat for what I have done before turning around to look at Adam who was in pain as I heard colorful words coming out of his mouth.

"That…" my Medajalibur pointed at the bloody stump. "Is the price you pay. An eye for an eye but only this time, it is an arm for an arm."

"I….swear…. I'll hunt you both down…" He gritted, "And I will make her watch as I end you, OOO!"

I simply planted my foot on his chest, glaring down at him.

Now, should I let him live? I know that Eiji never killed anyone as OOO. It wasn't right. I glared at the man before I swung my blade.

The only thing he saw was the tip close to his mask. And I mean _really_ close. "What are you doing?!" He snarled.

"Killing you isn't right for me," I stated. "You already got what you deserve for not only hurting my friends but threatening others."

I moved my blade away from him before I walked away as I canceled my Semblance, making the armor back to the TaToBa form as Adam yelled out to me.

"You think this is over!? This is only the beginning! War is coming!"

I stopped before turning my head to him. War. Something my dad went through many times during his days as a Marine. Some things he regrets doing but at the same time, doing it to protect us.

"Know this, OOO! You will pay for what you did to me! I will kill you and everything you know as well!"

I glared harshly at the Faunus. "I lost what I already have," I said coldly. "Remember this, _Adam_. All your madness and psychotic behavior will get you killed just like the Multi-King who was a human long ago. You know, come to think of it, humans and Faunus are more alike than you think."

This made him pissed.

"What? I mean, didn't the White Fang wanted equality before? Well, you got it. You're just as bad as the humans you condemn. Guess when you fight the 'monsters' for so long, you end up becoming like them."

"DON'T YOU DARE COMPARE ME TO YOUR PUTRID KIND!"

"We are all human in origin."

"YOU LIE!" He snarled, "I am nothing like you, humans. I am of a better breed, I am the one who shall reign over your kind!"

I was about to speak up until we heard a loud roar catching both of our attention. "It's here…" He muttered.

I turned my head to him as he quickly grabbed his ninjato and left the scene by going through the shattered window, escaping. Whatever made that sound must have made him escape and it's probably something not good.

I ran out of the dining hall and saw what was in the air, causing the White Fang to pull out. "Holy shit…" I cursed. In the sky was a large Grimm with two wings and two legs. Its body was that of a dragon. This was a Dragon Grimm. I took notice of the Grimm showing up as well, and that was then I realized they are drawn to the dragon. No wonder the White Fang are pulling out and the others being evacuated, the Dragon Grimm is a beacon for other Grimm to follow.

Whatever Cinder is doing, this is something very bad. This was the beginning of the total chaos in Beacon.

 _ **To be continued…**_

* * *

 **Blazing: Taka (x2), Kujaku (x1), Condor (x1)**

 **Scorching: Lion (x1), Tora (x2), Cheetah (x1)**

 **Strongest: Kuwagata (x1), Kamakiri (x1), Batta (x1)**

 **Legendary: Kobura (x1), Kame (x1), Wani (x1)**

 **Water: Shachi (x1), Tako (x1), Unagi (x1)**

 **Gravity: Sai (x1), Gorilla (x1), Zou (x2)**

 **Invincible: Ptera (x1), Tricera (x1), Tyranno (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"Look, guys, that giant Grimm is circling the school! Even the White Fang are pulling out! We have to go!" Sun pointed out.

"I am gonna use all the Combos to help you guys evacuate!" I declared, making them shocked.

 _"For this is just the beginning." Gara said, looking at the moon before he walked back into the shadows._

 **Next Time:** The Beginning, Full Combo Attack, Loss

* * *

 **A/N:** Well that is it for part one of the Battle of Beacon as our Rider has fought Adam. Remember, he was taught to fight by Ankh who has much more experience than anyone if he was in his real body despite him currently with only a half of his power. Also, OOO has the PuToTyra combo which made him invincible and immune to Adam's power hence why he was able to win. As the fight has begun, what will happen next?


	36. Chapter 35: The Beginning, Loss

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the 35th chapter of OOO! This here is the final part of the Volume 3 Arc! Woo! To think that we are already 35 chapters in on this story and we are getting close to the conclusion of the story. What will happen in the Battle of Beacon? Well let us find out in this chapter!

Remember, I will be following not only the RWBY episodes with some additions but also the OOO series (The Greeed, meeting Ankh, introducing Kougami, etc.).

Don't forget to check out my other stories as well.

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _As the battle in Beacon rages on, Jaune was following Pyrrha and Ozpin, confused to where they were heading._

" _Where are we heading?" Jaune asked._

" _Jaune, just try to stay quiet for this…." Pyrrha requested him as they reached the lower levels of Beacon. The group heading over to the recovering pod where Jaune saw the Maiden of Fall._

" _Are you ready Ms. Nikos?" Ozpin asked._

 _Pyrrha nodded before she quickly entered the other pod to begin the process._

" _Woah, woah! What's going on here, Pyrrha?" Jaune questioned her._

" _Mr. Arc…. Please just stand back and wait. Your questions will be answered." Ozpin informed him._

 _Ozpin presses a few more buttons on the screen, and Amber's pod raises up. Amber begins glowing orange, and her eyelids begin fluttering. The orange glow travels along the pipes connecting the two pods - first up to the ceiling, then down to Pyrrha's pod. An orange glow surrounds Pyrrha, who begins screaming out in agony._

" _Pyrrha!" Jaune called out. He rushed to her , moving his gaze back and forth between Pyrrha and the Maiden while Ozpin looks away._

" _I'm… so sorry…" he said._

 _However, an arrow pierces the glass of the pod the Maiden is in, the machine letting out alarms. Ozpin and Jaune turn around to see none other than Cinder._

" _Seems I can't take my eyes off you for one moment… Pyrrha Nikos…." Cinder smirked._

 _In seconds, the golden energy that was filling Pyrrha disappeared as it flew back into the Fall Maiden before it burst out of her, heading towards and fusing with Cinder as she groaned out before cackling softly as she floated up. Fire surrounded her as she unleashed a burst of energy and flames at the group._

" _This whole time right beneath our feet…" she mused. "She was right about you. Such arrogance."_

 _Pyrrha managed to get herself free with the help of her Semblance and was about to intervene until Ozpin stopped her. "Ms. Nikos, Mr. Arc you two head to the landing pad."_

" _But-"_

" _You'll get in the way," He answered._

 _Pyrrha was hesitant but complied before she helped Jaune leave, leaving only Ozpin and Cinder the only ones in the room._

" _Will he be okay?" Jaune asked._

" _I-I'm sure he will be okay." She answered._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 35: The Beginning, Full Combo Attack, Loss**

I ran out of the dining hall and saw what was in the air, causing the White Fang to pull out. "Holy shit…" I cursed. In the sky was a large Grimm with two wings and two legs. Its entire body was that of a wyvern. This was a Dragon Grimm. I took notice of the Grimm showing up as well, and that was then I realized they are drawn to the dragon. No wonder the White Fang are pulling out and the others being evacuated, the Dragon Grimm is a beacon for other Grimm to follow.

I quickly rushed to the landing zone to regroup with the others. When I did make it, I saw the students entering the airships but I saw Ruby and the others. Even more, I heard Blake apologizing to Ruby who was in an emotional state.

"You guys…" They saw me as Blake saw that I actually lived from the fight against Adam.

"You're okay!" Blake called out, tried to get up but unable to due to her injury.

"You need to rest Ms. Belladonna," Glynda told her, gently laying her back on the medical bed.

"Where's Pyrrha and Jaune?" I noticed.

"They are still missing…" Nora answered.

"What!?" Ruby got out.

"Look, guys, that giant Grimm is circling the school! Even the White Fang are pulling out! We have to go!" Sun pointed out. "And we still have people trying to get to the airships!"

"We have to… find them…" Ren said but couldn't get up from the pain.

"I'll find them…" Ruby declared. "I'll find them, and I'll bring them back."

"No! _We_ will find them, Ruby," Weiss argued as she turns to me, Ren, and Nora. "You guys watch after Blake and Yang. We'll be back."

I stared at Blake then at Beacon Academy as Ruby and Weiss were about to leave but with the Grimm overrunning Beacon, they wouldn't stand a chance… I looked at the Medal Book by my side before I gritted my teeth. The Multi-King may have used all the Combos to seal himself… but I am _not_ like him… I grabbed the Medal Book as Blake took notice. "Enrique whe-"

"I'm gonna help them," I answered without another question.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"I am gonna use all the Combos to help you guys evacuate!" I declared, making them shocked.

"What?! But you can't! Ankh said the Multi-King sealed himself when he used all the Cores!" She reminded.

I looked at Ruby, "Not if there were clones." I presented GataKiriBa. "It's just like at the Tournament, only this time… I am gonna go all out." I looked at Blake and kissed her forehead, making her shocked. "I'll be back, Blake…"

"Please…. Be safe…." She said softly.

"I promise…" I answered before I rushed ahead as Weiss and Ruby followed.

* * *

As we were making our way back, we heard Weiss's scroll ring. "It's Jaune." She pressed the key. "Jaune what's going on?"

 _[I-It's Pyrrha! She went after Cinder!]_ He answered, worry in his voice.

"She's what!?"

 _[She went to the top of Beacon's Tower. Please, she's going to get herself hurt!]_ He pleaded.

"We'll get her Jaune," I assured before the call ended.

All three of us got closer to the now ruined academy, I placed in the three Green Cores and titled the buckle before scanning them.

 **KUWAGATA! KAMAKIRI! BATTA! GA~TA GATA GATAKIRI-BA! GATAKIRIBA!**

Now in the all-green Full Combo of GataKiriba, seven other clones appeared before I opened the Medal Book, showing the Cores we gathered. "Are you sure you know what to do…?" Ruby asked worriedly as I focused on my aura, the Purple Cores now in my hand.

"I know what I am doing Ruby…" I answered, placing in the PuToTyra Cores into the O-Driver. The clones and I tilted the buckles once again before we scanned the respective Medals we placed in the O-Driver.

 **TAKA! TORA! BATTA! TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

The TaToBa clone got into the signature stance as the Medajalibur was by his side while the GataKiriBa Clone got into a praying mantis stance, his mantis blades at the ready with his horns charged up.

 **LION! TORA! CHEETAH! RATA RATA…RATORA~TAH!**

The light died down as RaToraTah's claws unfolded and were ready to strike swiftly.

 **SAI! GORILLA! ZOU! SAGOZO… SAGOZO!**

The SaGoZo clone beats his chest and got into a stance.

 **KOBURA! KAME! WANI! BURAKA~WANI!**

The BuraKaWani clone got into a martial arts stance. His lenses flared as he could see the heat in the area.

 **SHACHI! UNAGI! TAKO! SHA-SHA-SHAUTA! SHA-SHA-SHAUTA!**

ShaUTa got into a stance as the whips extended, sparking with electricity and ready to fight.

 **TAKA! KUJAKU! CONDOL! TA~JA~DOL!**

Fire surrounded the clone before it dissipated, revealing his glory as the Clone crossed his arms.

 **PTERA! TRICERA! TYRANNO! PU-TO-TYRA NO ZAURUS~!**

With the Invincible Combo now equipped, I plunged my hand into the ground before pulling out the Medagabryu. All eight of us got out of the circle formation before facing the Grimm and the Grimm dragon that is on top of the tower.

"Let's show them how we roll! How OOO fights to protect! Help Ruby and Weiss find Jaune, help everyone evacuate and beat Cinder!" I declared, pointing Medagabryu at the enemy. They grunted in agreement. "IKUZE!"

They charged forward as Ruby and Weiss followed behind us eight. TaJaDol and I took to the sky, attacking the Grimm from the air as we both unleashed fire and ice onto the creatures of Grimm.

With SaGoZo, he used his strength to lift up the debris, revealing a group of students. "Go! Head to the landing zone!" He ordered as the Full Combo's power allowed him to lift the heavy debris aside.

The students quickly headed to the landing pad until an Ursa Major roared at them. Seeing the Grimm, SaGoZo beats his chest and charge towards the Grimm as their arms collided. The two trying to push the other but with SaGoZo he pulled his arm back before punching the Ursa and delivered a head butt to its face, shattering its mask as the shards were embedded in its head, killings it.

As for GataKiriBa, he was creating more clones as they fended off the area and the evacuation ships. Making sure not a single Grimm enters the area as they cut, electrocute, or kick them to ashes. "Geez… will they let up for once?" He groaned.

RaToraTah and BuraKaWani were in the other side of Beacon, helping out any civilian that was unable to escape or got lost or attacked. While RaToraTah took on the Grimm, left over Knights with the help of the speed and power of sunlight as the BuraKaWani clone began to help out the students and healed them thanks to Cobra's power.

"It's okay, just relax and your wounds will be patched up," BuraKaWani informed the two students they found.

With TaToBa, ShaUTa, TaJaDol and myself, we continued our fight around the academy as TaJaDol and I were in the air, taking down Grimm that were in the air and those on the ground. Each one going down like bowling pins.

"Do these things ever stop flying at us?" TaJaDol groaned.

"You're telling me," I agreed as I sliced one in half with the Medagabryu.

"Hope Ruby and Weiss can get there in time?" He then took notice of something. "Incoming fireball!" He quickly unleashed his own, stopping the fireball, no doubt coming from Cinder.

"Guess Cinder doesn't want us to get near the tower…" TaJaDol frowned.

"Then we will make sure we do," I declared as the Ptera Wings produced many ice shards. "TaJaDol, produce the Kujaku Feathers."

He nodded and summoned a large amount that is aimed at the tower. "Now!" I shouted before we unleashed a Hail Mary of ice and kujaku projectiles to the tower. Several blasts of fire shot down from it, hitting our attacks before one blast knocked TaJaDol back but regained his senses.

"You alright?"

"I'm okay, thank goodness for this Combo being that of fire," he sighed in relief. "Let's go one more round." He summoned more feathers.

"Right back at Ya," I nodded as I summoned ice once again before firing at the tower again.

This time, a small explosion erupted off from that. We hit something alright.

"Direct hit! Hell yeah!" TaJaDol cheered. "Think she and that dragon are taken care of?"

"Come on. Let's hurry before she starts firing again." TaToBa informed from the ground.

However, we stopped when we looked at the tower to see a large fire shield!?

"Seriously!?" TaJaDol groaned. "I thought we got her!"

Cinder stood there, a wicked yet overbearing smirk laid on her face as she turned to the Dragon Grimm.

"Go after him…" Cinder ordered the Grimm Dragon.

Oh shit...

The Grimm Dragon roared loudly, its wings spread out before it took to the air once again as it chased after me. I quickly evaded its jaws before spinning around as I began to avoid its jaws while conjuring ice, sending the sharp projectiles at it.

"TaJaDol!" I called out.

"Got ya covered, boss!" TajaDol unleashed a fireball at the large Grimm, hitting it as its attention now on TaJaDol but I saw the chance and coated my gauntlet in ice before swooping down and punched its head, sending it away. Using both elemental attacks, the Grimm roared in anger, not liking the fact that the both of us are harming it.

"Let's clip its wings!" I said, placing in a cell medal into the Medagabryu before converting it into cannon mode

 **GULP!**

I aimed at the dragon as TaJaDol produced his feathers.

 **PUTOTYRA HISSATSU!**

We then aimed our attacks as the feathers and my cannon blasted combined, slicing through its left wing with ease, rendering it useless as it dropped back onto the tower.

It roared in pain, now unable to fly with one wing missing. "How do you like that you stupid Grimm!?"

It glared at TaJaDol, sending a torrent of fire at him, engulfing him in its flames. The result was the clone sent flying to the ground and vanished into green smoke. Seeing this, TaToBa grabbed the three red Core Medals.

"Head back to the others!" I shouted. "And place the Core Medals on the medal book!"

"Roger that boss!" He and ShaUTa went back to the landing zone as I flew up towards the tower to confront Cinder.

As I reached the top of the tower, I see Pyrrha already fighting Cinder. Tossing several metal objects at her, but she was able to melt through them with ease, even destroying her a large gear like it was nothing, by simply grabbing it. Whatever this power boost was, she was on a new level.

I suddenly noticed Ruby about to join the fray but I quickly pulled her away. "Enrique what are you-"

"Ruby, this fight is too dangerous," I informed. "You have to stay behind the cover while I help Pyrrha."

"No! I want to help!"

"Listen to me, Ruby, look what is going on," I motioned to the chaos. "Yang lost her arm already, and my girlfriend is already injured, I don't want to to risk you getting hurt too…"

"But…" she tried to argue but she knew that so much is already happening. I know it was harsh for me to say those words to her but I just couldn't let someone who reminds me too much of my little sister get killed. "Fine…"

I nodded before she ran to take cover behind the rubble. It was a good thing I was in PuToTyra. I rushed towards the two before I fired a round at Cinder who avoided the attack.

"Surprise," I said, firing another round at her.

She dodged once more before flinging a large metal gear at me, before turning her attention back to Pyrrha, knocking her away. "If only you joined me, Enrique… Then we wouldn't have to fight like this…"

"I will never join you!" I growled. "It is my choice and my decision to what I do!" I swung my axe at her but she unleashed a fireball at me but was useless as I focus on the combo.

"Then…. It's time to know the consequences for defying my will…" She frowned.

Pyrrha and I began our attack at the woman as she unleashed a few fireballs at us but I used the Medagabryu to fire back, each shot hitting the fireballs.

Seeing this as a chance, Pyrrha sends a pieces of metal shrapnel flying at Cinder. The woman-in-red was strong as her Aura protected her from the hits.

But this was just a distraction.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

Expanding my External Fins, they flapped and blasted Cinder with the cold wings of a blizzard. Pyrrha and I watched as Cinder was slowly being encased in ice and frozen solid.

"Good job," Pyrrha said.

"Thanks," I replied. As much as I wanted to punish Cinder for her crimes, she would need to face justice for them. Right now she was frozen, but her Aura would protect her from harm. She just wouldn't be able to move or get away while we handed her to the authorities.

However, I made the sad mistake of underestimating Cinder.

Cracks began to spread across the surface of her icy prison as it melted before it shattered to pieces. An icy mist surrounded us as Cinder hovered in the air, and aura of flame radiating from her body. Her eyes were also blazing with flames as she glared at us.

"Crap!" I cursed as Cinder conjured her spear-like Dust shards and they rained down upon us. I quickly stood in front of Pyrrha, covering her. The shards hit my armor but I managed to endure as Cinder attacked me.

Suddenly, Cinder was right in front of me. She slapped me with her right hand and fired a blast of fire that sent me sprawling to the floor.

"Enrique!" Pyrrha yelled and she attacked Cinder, only for the woman-in-red to glide back and dodge. Pyrrha fired, but Cinder blocked the Dust rounds with her hands before she fired Dust spears at the Mistral Champion. Pyrrha raised her shield to block but was knocked back by the force of the attack.

Cinder glided back to me as I rose up before she grabbed me by the throat and effortlessly lifted me up into the air.

"You could've had everything you could ever want," she said to me. "But you decide to fight for a worthless cause."

Growling, my Wind Stingers extended and struck Cinder in both shoulders, separating the two of us. My External Fins extended and I aimed my Medagaburyu at her, sending blasts that hit her Aura. She scowled but then smiled as she saw something coming...right behind me.

"GRIMM!" Pyrrha cried.

It was that Dragon Grimm again. Guess it wanted payback for the now missing wing my clone and I cut off earlier. Figures this wouldn't be easy.

This 2-on-1 fight was going to turn into a big 2-on-2 fight.

Avoiding its claw, I fired a few rounds at it with the Medagaburyu, causing it to reel back. Pyrrha magnetized another gear before sending it straight at Cinder but the dragon stopped it from happening. The maiden sent more arrows at her but brought up a thick ice wall to stop the arrows in their place.

Once it shattered, I fired more ice shards at the enemy, causing her to stumble from the additional loss of Aura.

While I did hit her, and she obviously felt it. She gripped my arm before flinging me near the dragon as its claw slammed me down, pinning me to the ground.

I focused on the combo again as I aimed my weapon at its head. "Eat this!" I fired a round at it, causing it to roar in pain.

"Get away from him!" Pyrrha shouted out, sending a gear at her.

Cinder quickly drew out her bow before letting it go. The strange thing is, it melted through the gear, before reforming behind it as it was sent through Pyrrha's leg, forcing her to her knees. She soon walked closer to her, forming another arrow.

I quickly grabbed its leg before I used my Semblance and froze its claw. With the axe, I smashed the ice that allowed me to get away from the dragon.

"And this… is for trying to take what is mine, Pyrrha…" Cinder said coldly. She soon drew her arrow back before she let it go, piercing Pyrrha through her chest, causing to her to gasp in pain, resulting with me to stop where I was and my eyes widening in horror. But Cinder wasn't done as she walked over, placing her hand on Pyrrha before a shift of fire phased through her. The wind flew by, as Pyrrha turned into ash, right in front of my eyes.

No, no, no, NO!

My eyes widen in utter horror upon what I saw: Cinder killed Pyrrha. "N-No…" I trembled in fear. Memories of my dad's death from combat… the memories of my mom and Marie dying in front of me…. All of it came back to me once again as I lost all sense of control. "PYRRRHHHHAAAAAAAAA!" I screamed.

Suddenly, I took notice of Ruby who was now being enveloped in a white light that began to spread to the entire tower. I shield my eyes from the bright light and what felt like forever, the light died down there stood the Grimm Dragon, frozen in place. Not like frozen in ice, I mean it was frozen, as if it could not move at all.

I quickly flew to her and landed on my feet. Rushing to her, I saw that Ruby was unconscious but… Pyrrha… she's… she's gone...

Cinder killed her...

She killed her right in front of me and Ruby...

Damn it... DAMN IT!

My lenses flashed as I screamed in anger at the woman. The Ptera Wings flailed as the Tyranno Tail swings in anger as I see Cinder taking notice of me. I didn't know what was wrong with me but I feel like I lost all sense of control…

I was going berserk again...

" _RRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!_ _ **"**_

Ice began to spread around us both as Cinder avoided the ice as she brought out her blades once again. I rushed towards her as she avoided the attack, my punch obliterating the wall that was once behind her.

I darted my head to her, growling as I went after her like a beast would do to its prey. Grabbing the Medagabryu, I converted it to its cannon form and aimed at her. She fired arrows at me, and I fired back with bullets made of ice. I marched towards her and grabbed her arm before slamming her to the ground.

She glides away from me as she held her arm in pain as she was finally on the defensive, unable to stop me.

"What… is this power?" She got out, shocked as she sent several arrows at me. Each one was useless as I delivered a headbutt, causing her to stumble and avoided another punch.

"You are gonna pay for killing my friend!" I shouted as I began to deliver a multitude of slashes that she blocks. Whenever she tries to deliver an attack, it didn't faze me one bit as I pushed further and further before I used the Medagabryu and shattered her obsidian blades. She gasps before I brought my blade down at her to which she quickly avoided the moment I strike.

However, her left eye wasn't so lucky as she stumbled, grasping the left side of her face as blood slowly starts to escape from the wound she received, the woman cringing in pain.

I actually blinded her left eye.

Ready to end her, I raised my axe once again but she quickly unleashed a fireball at the ceiling above Ruby, making my eyes widen. I quickly regained my sense of control as I felt normal again but I rushed to Ruby and embraced her, allowing the debris to hit me instead as I focus on the Full Combo's power.

What felt like minutes, I pushed the debris away and scanned my surroundings.

Cinder escaped...

I looked at Ruby who was in my arms, still unconscious and protected from the debris that nearly buried us. "It's gonna be okay Ruby…" I whispered, trying to keep it together from what happened…

I lost two of my friends…

I lost the place I called home…

All because of Cinder…

I flew out of the tower with Ruby in my arms. She seemed to be exhausted, deprived of all of her energy, and even Aura. I could literally tell she was on empty on everything. But… what was that? Just how did she do that?

Pushing that thought aside, I was also tired from the loss of energy, my eyes were slowly being a blur but I chose to stay awake as I safely landed in the city. I set Ruby down gently as I formed some ice, allowing her to rest on it the moment I saw her uncle heading this direction. Slowly but limply, I began to mourn in grief. I just couldn't forget what happened...

When I made found the Medal Book with all Core Medals accounted for, thankfully, I fell against the wall with my Aura now depleted as the Cores vanished into wisps of purple smoke and reentered my Aura, dispelling the armor. When the armor vanished, it revealed my current state as sweat beaded down my face, my eyes filled with grief from what happened, soot and bruises all over me as I was taking heavy breaths, my eyes now blurry.

"Hey, you alright kid?" Qrow asked me, kneeling down.

I couldn't give an answer, only to move my head weakly to Ruby as tears slowly escaped my eyes.

He glared, grabbing my collar, "What did you do?" He asked, "Just what went up there?"

"L-Light… from… Ruby…"

His eyes widen, letting go of me before looking down at her. He frowned before picking her up, "Come on… there's a ship heading to Patch right now…"

"Just go…" I declined, my eyelids feeling heavier.

"No way, kid, you look like you have been through hell and from what I heard, using all those Combos in separate bodies," He argued.

"I said… go…" I breathed heavily.

Ruby's uncle looked like he was gonna argue once again before he sighed, "Just stay safe then…. Alright?"

I slowly nodded before my eyes finally gave in as I fell unconscious with everything around me going dark.

* * *

 _Ruby groaned as she slowly wakes up, her eyes greeted with the ceiling of her room._

" _Ruby! You're awake!" She turned her head to see her dad._

" _What happened…?" She groaned, sitting up as she grasps her head from a headache._

" _Someone said something about light from the tower… Then your friend Enrique came down with you and handed you to Qrow." Taiyang informed her. "Are you alright?"_

 _Her eyes widened. "Where is he?! Where's Enrique?" She pleaded._

" _I wish I knew… Qrow tried to drag him here, but from what he told me, Enrique wanted to be left alone…. I hope the poor boy is alright." He frowned._

" _Yang?" She asked._

" _Uh... She's uh... she's gonna be alright. I think she's just... I think it's just gonna take some time for her to get used to things. She's too strong to let this stop her."_

" _Dad…. what happened to the school? And Vale?" Ruby asked, glancing at him to give her the answers._

" _Things at Vale are under control, but the school... It's... it's not that simple." He answered. "That thing, whatever it is, doesn't seem to be dead. Don't get me wrong, you and your friend did a number on it. But it's not disappearing. It's... kind of... frozen. I know that doesn't sound too bad, but it keeps attracting more Grimm to the school."_

" _I did what?" She tilted her head, confused._

" _Hmm?"_

" _You said I did a number on it, what do you mean?"_

" _O-Oh! Uh… I-It's nothing Ruby. Just go back to sleep and rest up alright?" He chuckled softly. "We can talk about it later. Things are just… kind of a mess.."_

" _It's always a mess," the two looked to the door to see Qrow._

" _Uncle Qrow!" Ruby smiled at him._

" _Heh, hey kiddo." He smiled softly back._

" _Say… do you know what happened to Enrique, as well as what 'I' did to that Grimm?" She asked him._

 _Qrow turned to Taiyang who sighed, "You didn't tell her?" He got out._

" _She doesn't need to know that… Not anymore." He shook his head._

" _Then I'll tell her."_

 _Taiyang was about to argue until he sighed, "Alright… I'll go make us tea." He then left the room as Qrow sat down._

" _So, how are you feeling?" He asked._

" _Um… I kind of hurt all over…"_

" _That makes sense after what you did," he crossed his arms._

" _I don't understand…. What did I do?" She asked him._

" _What was the last thing you remember?"_

" _It was….." She soon stopped her eyes widen as she remembers, tears running down her face, "P-Pyrrha… she….." she was unable to finish the sentence, covering her face from the tears._

" _Anything else…?"_

" _I remember… my head hurting…"_

 _Qrow was quiet for a moment before asking, "The night you met Ozpin, what was the first thing he said to you?"_

" _I… I don't know… I think it was about-"_

" _Silver Eyes," Qrow finished. "It's an extremely rare trait."_

" _Does…. That have to do with what 'I' did?" She asked._

" _You're special, Ruby. And not in the "Daddy loves his special angel" kind of way. You're special the same way your mom was. Remnant's full of legends and stories, some of them true, some made up. But there's one Oz told me from a very long time ago." He explained. "Back before Huntsmen, before Kingdoms, it was said that those born with silver eyes were destined to lead the life of a warrior. You see, the creatures of Grimm, the most fearsome monsters mankind had ever encountered, were afraid of those silver-eyed warriors. They were the best of the best. It was said that even a single look from one of these fighters could strike a Grimm down. Heh. It's a ridiculous story."_

" _You think that I might be…?"_

" _Well a giant Grimm is currently frozen on top of Beacon tower and you're here, safe in bed," he pointed out. He got up before walking to the door._

" _Wait, how did you know what Ozpin said to me?"_

" _All the missions I go on, it's been for Ozpin," he answered. "But he's missing now. Something's been set into motion. With Oz gone, I have to pick up where he left off."_

" _And what could I do?"_

" _That's up to you squirt. What does your heart say?" He pointed at her before leaving._

 _Ruby ponders for a little while before looking out the window._

 _After a while, Ruby walks over to Yang's room and knocks on the door. She opened the door, now seeing her sister in the bed with bandages on the now missing arm. "Yang?"_

 _She got no response from Yang. Seeing that she might be asleep, she was about to leave but she heard Yang's voice._

" _Ruby."_

 _She turns around, seeing Yang facing her but noticing the tears in her eyes. She rushed to Yang and hugged her, "I'm so glad you are okay!"_

" _But I'm not," Yang answered._

" _What do you- By Oum…" Ruby gasped, seeing her sister now down to one arm._

" _It's all gone- the school, Penny, Pyrrha, and…" she looks at her severed arm._

" _Yang, where are Weiss and Blake?"_

" _Weiss' father came to her…"_

" _What?"_

" _After what happened, no one knows who to trust… so her father took her back to Atlas."_

" _Well what about-"_

"Blake _ran!" She said. "After we got to the city she just ran…"_

" _Yang… then can you please tell me what happened to Enrique and Ankh…?" Ruby pleaded. She couldn't forget during the battle, Enrique used all of the Full Combos and fought inside the Academy._

" _I don't know and no one has seen him. Neptune and Sun don't know where he went either." She replied. "As for Ankh… like I would know. He's probably looking for Enrique knowing that he needs him for the bird he is."_

 _Ruby lowered her head, worried about her friend. No doubt that Enrique must be deeply in grief for losing two of his friends and Beacon Academy, a place he called home; his only home in this world. Her two other teammates left on their own. "So what do we do we do now?"_

" _You can do whatever you want, I'm gonna lie here." she answered._

" _Yang…"_

" _Just leave me alone…"_

 _Ruby got up before she went to the door before looking back at her sister. She turned away before leaving the room. "Enrique, I hope you are okay…" She hoped for her friend's safety. She couldn't forget when he told her about his family and from what happened to Penny and Pyrrha, there is no doubt he will be in grief._

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes, my sight greeted with the blue sky as I slowly turn my head, seeing myself in an alley, luckily I still had my stuff. I slowly sit up, seeing my sword by my side before leaning my head against the wall. So much has happened to all of us… to me...

Memories of what happened came back in my head as tears escaped my eyes.

Why… Why have I gone through it again…?

Why must those that are family to me have to die….?

Why me…?

After what happened at Beacon yesterday, I just couldn't forget what happened to Pyrrha. It was too much for me for it brought back memories of losing my family. I lost two friends… two good friends.

Beacon was now overrun with Grimm. The academy was like home to me and now it has been taken away. Two of my friends, my new home… gone. All because of Cinder and that bastard Kazari. It felt like I was reliving my past again.

I was depressed from their deaths and I couldn't let the others see me, including Ankh. I wiped away the remaining tears that were running down my eyes. Remembering what happened yesterday, I slammed my fist into the wall as I took deep breaths.

"I failed to protect two of my friends…" I whimpered. I promised myself that I would reach out to help but I couldn't save Penny. I couldn't save Pyrrha.

I couldn't do anything to save them.

After an hour, I rested against the wall until a shadow flew past me, causing me to look up and saw the small sight of a bow before it vanished. Realizing who jumped over the rooftop, I got up before I tilted the buckle and scanned the King Combo but chose not to announce it.

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

Now in my TaToBa armor, I used Batta Legs to jump onto the roof and looked at the direction it vanished. That was then I saw Blake jumping across the rooftops. "Blake…" I muttered.

I decided to go after her as I used Batta Legs to jump across the rooftops, catching up to her. "Blake!" I called out.

She must have heard my voice since she turned her head and saw me as a few tears came down her eyes. Turning away, she continues to jump away.

"Blake, wait!" I pleaded.

She ignores me, so I decided to increase the power before jumping at a great length and landing in front of her. She was gonna turn around but I got hold of her arm. "Blake, don't go."

"Enrique, I need to go away." She said but I chose to not let go. "Let me go."

"Blake, please don't run away. I know it was too much after what happened." I said. "But I can't see you like this. I just can't."

She jerked her head to my direction with anger behind her eyes.

"What about Yang!? What about Pyrrha and Penny!?" She snapped. "Beacon Academy is gone, Pyrrha and Penny are dead! Yang lost her arm after what Adam did!" she pulled away as tears welled up in her eyes. "I didn't want to see more of what happened so I had to run away!"

Upon hearing this, I clenched my hands. "YOU DON'T THINK YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE HURT AS WELL?!" I yelled, causing her to flinch. "Penny and Pyrrha were my friends too!" I continued. "I lost those that meant a lot to me, Blake! First, I lost my family, now Beacon; the place I called home and two of our friends are gone!"

I put the buckle back to its original position, dispelling the armor. "I ran away from the others as well after what happened because I don't want to lose them! I'm afraid of losing the only people that I consider family to me!" Tears came down as I look at her. "But I don't want to lose the girl I love!"

Blake's eyes widened upon what I said. "Enrique…"

"My family was the first to be taken away from my life then my home, my own right to live," I said as tears were streaming down my eyes. "Now, it feels like I am reliving my past. Penny, Pyrrha, they were my friends. Beacon was home to me, the place where I met you and the others. Now it's gone, my own life keeps going from bad to good then to worse." I looked at her. "But I don't want to lose you, Blake. You mean a lot to me and I don't want to see you like this anymore."

I look at her in the eyes, seeing her eyes well up more in tears. "Stay with me, Blake… and we can run away together…"

"You…. want me to stay? After everything I've caused?" She asked me.

"I don't want to lose you Blake and none of this is your fault," I answered. "I told you, this is never your fault… you are Blake Belladonna, the girl I love."

"Enrique….." She got out. Upon hearing my words, tears finally came down her eyes before she embraced me tightly. I felt her tears staining my jacket, making me gently stroke her hair, comforting her.

I let out a small yet sad smile before I look into her amber eyes, beginning to feel that I am being drawn to them like before. She leaned in as I draw her close to me. Once we were close enough, I could feel her breath on my lips before I gave her a passionate kiss, feeling her soft lips pressed gently against my own. I pulled away as we look at each other before Blake kissed me back.

It felt comforting but at the same time slightly cold since we been through a lot yesterday. But that didn't matter as I felt Blake's soft hand grasping mine. This was a feeling we didn't want to forget, a feeling that neither of us doesn't want to lose.

* * *

 _Blake's mind was sparking many things and thoughts as she kissed Enrique. Her heart was fluttering more and more from the kiss and what he said, everything felt right and she knew this. She knew that she wants to be with him no matter what. Even if Adam follows her, she knows she'll be safe with him around._

' _I accept Enrique… I'll stay by your side...' She said in her thoughts, wrapping her arms around him tightly._

 _Ever since she met him on the day she arrived at Beacon, to her, he was noticeably different than the other guys. He simply had no ulterior motives, only kindness, respect, and nervousness. Sure she saw him as simply a fellow student the day class first began and fought like a newbie would. But as days past, there were times she saw similarities that she understands._

 _Growing up alone for most of your life… hiding a past you want to forget but forever haunts you… even survival..._

 _With Adam, she did believe what she was doing was right. But once he began to show his true colors, even killing an innocent family along the way. She realized it was nothing more than an enraged man, wanting to kill everything that wasn't a Faunus. And she didn't want to be a part of that anymore._

 _The day the others found out she was a Faunus, she felt afraid, and yet one person._ One _person chose to go after her, helping her..._

 _And it was Enrique. And he didn't care what she was, only saw her as what she wanted. An equal. And this was the beginning of her realizing her feelings towards him._

 _A Faunus in love with a human. To others, those that treat Faunus unequally, it was wrong._

 _But to everyone else she befriended, it was nothing more than true love. And one she wanted to feel and accept._

 _Enrique helped her forget about Adam. He was there for her; there to cheer her up. He was someone who brought her out to the light. The one who reached his hand out to her, helping her._

 _Those were the reasons she fell in love with him. She loved him more than anything and he was here, wanting to stay with her; run away together from what happened yesterday. She was willing to do that; to run away with him to get away from what happened at Beacon._

* * *

After our kiss, I looked at Blake and remembered my fight against Adam when he stabbed her and severed Yang's arm. The guy got what he deserved when I returned the favor by cutting off his with the Medagabryu. "About Adam…" I started, trying to not bring up bad memories. "Was he your ex…?"

Blake slowly nodded as she looked down. "He was..." She answered. "But he was no longer the person I once cared about and knew."

"Sorry I-" She gently placed her finger on my lips, gesturing me to stop for a moment before saying, "But meeting you, you helped me forget about him. Thank you." she let out a grateful smile.

Our moment was interrupted when we heard someone clear their throat. We turned our heads and saw Ankh with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "Good, you found your pet cat. Let's go," Ankh said.

"Ankh?" I muttered in surprise but also Blake and I flustered knowing that he probably saw our moment. "How did you find me…?"

"You really are an idiot." he huffed. "You know that I have Aura Sense and I can detect Core Energy since you have the Core Medals with you." He referred to the Medal Book and the PuToTyra Semblance.

"What do you want, Ankh?" Blake asked, wanting to avoid the topic.

"What do you think? I'm staying with my charge." Ankh replied bluntly. "We still have to deal with that bastard, Gara along with Kazari and that Cinder bitch."

"What about the others…?" I asked.

"Far as I know, probably in their homes." he answered as he leaned against the wall. "So, what's the plan?"

I looked at him then at Blake. "We just have to find out what is gonna happen now," I answered. "Blake, I know you are running away but it's best to be together than alone."

I let out a small smile. "In this time, it's best to be with the ones who care about you. 'Sides, like you, I don't have anywhere else to go now."

"That is where you are wrong," Ankh scoffed, presenting a key card. "After that incident, Kougami sent that Felix guy, who gave me a key for a place for us to stay. He heard what happened and made some contacts. That sneaky old man certainly has friends in places and is resourceful."

"Great. Looks like we won't be squatting," I smiled. "Blake, how about you?"

She looked at me before grasping my hand, intertwining her fingers with mine. "I'll go with you," she answered. "Together."

I nodded before we made our way down to the streets, searching for a RideVendor. Luckily, we found two by a store. Using a Cell Medal for both machines, Ankh and I activated them, causing them to convert into bike form.

Blake mounted the RideVendor with me as Ankh mounted his own. I felt her put her arms around me.

"Alright, team. Let's ride."

"Where will we go from here?" Blake asked.

I was quiet before looking at the road ahead. "Wherever our path leads us to." I responded before we drove to the location that Kougami gave us to live in.

* * *

 _As the shattered moon was set high in Emerald Forest, a figure was limping. That figure was none other than the girl, Neo. She was barely luckily she survived that onslaught of Griffons but now she was injured with a wound on her leg and arm, her umbrella being the only support to help her walk._

 _Just as her walk continues, she slipped, falling onto the ground. She gritted her teeth in pain before she heard howling around her. She looked around and saw a small pack of Beowolves surrounding her. They were ready to maul her to bits but were interrupted when green lighting shocked the pack, killing them._

 _The mute girl looked around, wondering who did that only for the sound of footsteps to approach her. Neo slowly lifted her head and was in face with one of the former leader(s) of the White Fang, Uva._

 _She could only mouth his name but no sound came out of her lips._

 _The Insect Greeed scoffed. "_ _ **Kazari may be devious but he is a traitor to us Greeed. Don't think what I did shows my kindness to you humans,"**_ _He looked down at her. "_ _ **You lost that Torchwick criminal from what I witnessed. Gobbled up by a Griffon like yesterday's lunch."**_

 _She slowly frowned, feeling the onset of anger and sadness._

" _ **I can recruit you to my group, though,**_ _" he offered, making her look at him. "_ _ **Do you desire to live or die here, ripped apart by the soulless beasts? If you want to live, then assist me in ridding Kazari and the White Fang. Even assist me on killing OOO and get back my Cores."**_

 _She looked at him. Seeing as that Uva saw Torchwick die from a distance, then she has somewhat a choice. Either die here to be killed by Grimm or help the Insect Greeed in front of her._

 _Making her decision, she nodded making Uva have a type of smirk on his face. He snapped his fingers and what looks to be three individuals jumping down from the trees._

 _They were wearing dark green and black uniforms as if they support Uva. Their faces were shrouded by the masks they were wearing that had green streaks, acting like slits for eyes. She also took notice that two of them are Faunus. "_ _ **Get her up and bring her to the mansion."**_

" _Yes, master Uva." They bowed before following his orders. They brought her to the mansion as Uva went to his usual spot with a green veil over the wall. With that was another veil with the symbol of a mantis, as if it represents a group._

 _Neo saw that there were at least 10 people in the mansion, walking about along with mummy-like creatures that were placing coins into crates._

" _Master Uva, what is our next task?" One of the members asked, appearing from the hall._

" _ **Tend to the new recruit and leave me be. I still want updates about my Cores."**_ _Uva ordered._

" _As you wish," he bowed._

 _Uva huffed at the group. They showed up on his doorstep ever since they know about what he is and what he did since they told him they were the descendants of those who followed the Multi-King and his generals. Not to mention, fully aware of the history of the Lost Kingdom. Despite his hate to these Humans and Faunus that praise him, he needs his Cores._

 _With them, he will have a chance to find them before Kazari or OOO does._

* * *

 _In the White Fang HQ, Kazari simply had a toothy grin as some of the other White Fang members were tending to Adam. "I told you, you would have gotten your butt kicked by OOO."_

" _Shut it Cat…." Adam growled, his anger through the roof and his rage shown clearly. One misstep, and Kazari could tell, one Core would be gone. That is if he was able to harm him._

" _Do tell?" He chuckled, pointing at the now missing arm. "You thought OOO would lose? But instead… hmm what was it that happened? Oh right, the loss of an arm and your second defeat."_

" _I said, shut it Kazari…" He gripped his sword, his anger boiling into it as it glowed red hot._

 _Kazari simply raised his hands with a grin. "Enjoy the rest you gonna need it after what happened." He waved off._

 _Adam growled in anger, swinging his sword as it cleaved the gems that laid the area next to them. Turning them into ash easily. "OOO… I swear I will rip your heart out and feast on it!"_

 _With Kazari, he was flipping a Cell Medal as he heard Adam shout. Oh, how easy it was to piss him off. "Another piece has been moved in the board," he mused. "Guess it will be easy for me." He went into his Greeed form as he traces his hand on the wall as he walks._

 _Beacon has fallen but OOO still remains. Even more, he saw the Cinder woman finally taste her first 'defeat' from afar. Did he enjoy watching both sides lose? Oh yes, he did. He simply commands in the shadows while the big players do all the work._

 _He simply enjoys what was going on. They may have won but it was only the start. "_ _ **Desires… desires…"**_ _he hummed in amusement._

 _Making it to his quarters, he simply sat against the seat, placing his hands behind his head as he wags his foot. "_ _ **I wonder what else would happen?"**_ _He chuckled._

* * *

 _In the Grimm-infested Beacon Academy, footsteps were heard in the dark, empty hall as a Beowolf took notice of the figure. Just as it was gonna pounce, it was greeted with a red lance to its skull._

" _Insolent beast." The voice of Gara scoffed before kicking the corpse back, disintegrating into black smoke._

 _Gara was in his newly created armor that couldn't be seen due to the darkness, progressing his way to where the 'mighty' Ozpin's office was once at. He made his way up the broken hall before he made it to the door. He simply pushed the door, the entire frame falling forward as the dust scattered upon impact._

 _He looked around the area before his sights were set on a small clump of ashes of the fallen Pyrrha Nikos. "There you are." He said._

 _He walked to the clump before kneeling down at it, yellow visors glowing with interest in his eyes. "Polarity, an interesting Semblance you had." He brought out a vial from his person before collecting some of the ashes. "But now you will be useful to my plans my dear."_

 _Standing up after collecting the ashes, he placed the vial on his side as he gazed at the field before leaving the area. However as he was about to descend from the room, the moonlight revealed an object on Gara. The only thing that could be seen in the moonlight was a belt around his waist and a part of his . The belt had a buzz saw-like buckle with three familiar objects that are aligned in an inverted triangle; three Core Medals._

" _For this is just the beginning."_

* * *

Two months passed since that battle and winter finally settled in the town as it was snowing. Blake and I were still trying to get over what happened that day in Beacon as well. Now, Blake, Ankh, and I were in the apartment that Kougami bought for us; It was a nice living area for us. Ankh had his own room much to his relief and it was a high shelf-type of bed since he is a Bird Greeed and enjoys high places.

For Blake and I, we had to share a room. I was nervous at first but as the days past, we eventually got used to it. The arrangement was still pretty new. We were living together. There were things we needed to work on, but we managed to get into a pretty comfortable pattern.

We didn't stay in for long. We went out to Vale to help clear out any Grimm that were attracted by that Dragon Grimm. Even Ankh helped, but only because he needed something to do or he'd go mad with boredom.

With that said, the Kougami Foundation managed to move the civilians during the attack to the residential district of Vale, now keeping all of the districts protected. At first I never knew that Kougami was capable of such a task to keep the Grimm away from the district we live in. Now, the city was under the full protection of the RideVendor Battalion.

Right now, we were back in the apartment as I was currently gazing out the window, watching the snow fall. The white snow blanketing the outside with each snowflake. Next to me was Blake who was sleeping as she rested her head on my shoulder as her hand held onto mine.

I looked over to the other couch and saw Ankh asleep as well since all three of us recently got back from buying our necessities as well as fighting the Grimm. If you can also count the boxes of ice cream that Ankh bought as well.

Despite what we have been doing and what has been going on, the monotony was starting to get to us. Staying here, with peace and quiet, it just didn't feel right. The enemy was out there, making plans. They had already won but this was just the beginning.

I have to do what I can to make sure they don't hurt more lives than they already have.

* * *

The next day, Blake, Ankh and I headed up to the tower where Pyrrha gave her life to try and stop Cinder. The place where she was struck down. She was gone now, but her sacrifice would always be remembered.

The three of us were wearing our winter clothing to keep ourselves warm as we were out in the snow. Despite the Grimm running around, we managed to avoid them when we made our way up here.

I was currently wearing a black mid-length trench coat that was buttoned along with a gray scarf wrapped around my neck. Under it was a white, collared shirt and I was wearing dark denim pants and black boots. I was also wearing black gloves to keep my hands warm.

Blake was wearing a white coat with a black, fuzzy collar and long black pants with matching mittens. She also had a snowcap with cat ears on her head as well. When we first bought our winter clothes, I insisted on Blake to wear the snowcap she had because I thought it looks cute on her plus it also hides her Faunus features like the bow did.

For Ankh, he was wearing the same clothes, only this time he zipped up his jacket and the hood covering his head as he was keeping himself warm with his power.

Blake and I placed flowers on the spot as Ankh watched.

"Pyrrha Nikos was known as the 'Invincible Girl', but she was just like us. She was a person who had a dream, a dream to be a Huntress in order to protect the world. She was struck down too soon, leaving behind friends and family," I started.

"She was a good friend, and one of our best," Blake agreed.

"Semper Fi," I nodded as I put a fist to my heart.

"You always say that. What does it mean?" asked Blake.

"It's a saying my dad and the other soldiers in the military say. Semper Fi means 'always faithful'." I looked at the dog tag locket hanging from my neck. "And it is what I will always remember."

"Are you both done?" Ankh asked impatiently. "The Grimm will smell us if we hang around here any longer."

We nodded before we left, with Blake holding my hand as the snow continues to fall onto the ground. One thing is for sure, we have to be ready for what comes to us.

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Blazing: Taka (x1), Kujaku (x1), Condor (x1)**

 **Scorching: Lion (x1), Tora (x2), Cheetah (x1)**

 **Strongest: Kuwagata (x1), Kamakiri (x1), Batta (x1)**

 **Legendary: Kobura (x1), Kame (x1), Wani (x1)**

 **Water: Shachi (x1), Tako (x1), Unagi (x1)**

 **Gravity: Sai (x1), Gorilla (x1), Zou (x2)**

 **Invincible: Ptera (x1), Tricera (x1), Tyranno (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"I am here to have my revenge, boy!" Gara grinned.

 **SAME**! **KUJIRA**! **OOKAMIUO**!

"The best place to find our answers to end him is to the Lost Kingdom," Ankh announced.

 **Next Time:** Aftermath, Poseidon, the Quest

* * *

 **A/N:** Well that is it for the Volume 3 Arc folks! I am sure there will be some of you hating the fact of Pyrrha dying. However…. I will surprise you with this, and possibly spoilers, she _will_ return later on. How? You will have to wait and see (I don't want to spoil all of it). Can't tell you when or how though, I can't tell you what I have planned. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as well as that surprising preview of what Gara has and recently obtained. What will happen now? Well, you guys have to see in the next chapter along with what Gara is about to become.

Also the next three chapters will take place _before_ Volume 4 and those three upcoming chapters will be the conclusion to this first season of my story ^^

Stay in the shadows everyone.

 **P.S.** _Please_ don't hate me for the character death. As I said before, I am following the storyline but I will add some additional stuff later on.


	37. Chapter 36: Aftermath, Poseidon, Quest

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with a new arc in the newest chapter of OOO! I hope you enjoyed the previous arc and its ending. As you now know, the debut of a certain evil Rider will be making his appearance and this is where it begins! Don't forget to check out my newest story, **Chalice: The Wild Card Chronicles (Kamen Rider Blade x High School DxD)**.

Also, I am glad you guys are enjoying the story so far and that I am thankful. Anyways let us begin the beginning of the new arc shall we?

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

It was the middle of the night as I was sleeping on the bed, Blake resting next to me as we slept through the night. However, as I was sleeping, I was flinching as tears and cold sweat running down my face. I was going through what I thought would never happen again, I was having another nightmare.

' _Penny!'_

' _ **You humans don't know what the troubles you call cause. You are are nothing but walking desires for me.'**_ _Kazari said from the speakers. '_ _ **You think training the kittens, these… Huntsman and Huntresses to fight the enemy when you don't realize the conflict that brews every day.'**_

' _You guys go help Pyrrha! I'll take care of the Grimm!' I shouted to Weiss and Ruby._

' _PYRRHAAA!'_

 _However as my nightmare continues, I saw who, more like what was in front of me as darkness surrounded me, the Dino Greeed who was growling at me. "_ _ **You can't save everyone boy…!"**_ _He roared before he lunged at me._

My eyes shot open as I sat up, on the verge of screaming from the nightmare. After experiencing the nightmare, I was breathing heavily with cold sweat as my eyes filled were with tears before I try to wipe them away.

I looked to my side and saw Blake still sleeping, not wearing her bow to hide her cat ears. Ever since we got comfortable sleeping together, she decided to sleep without her bow since she knew I see her as a person than as a Faunus who were mistreated.

Needing air after what happened, I slowly and gently got off the bed before walking to my closet to grab my coat and left the room. Once I was out of the room, I went to the door and walked outside. I watched from the ledge as the moonlight of the shattered moon was casted down in the district.

I lowered my head and reached in my coat and pulled out the photo of Team RWBY, Team JNPR, Team CFVY, Ankh, and I together.

I just couldn't forget what happened at Beacon, I just can't. Losing two friends was very hard for Blake and I but I couldn't forget what happened to Pyrrha or Penny. Seeing what happened to them was still stuck in my head. I should have done something but I couldn't get there in time.

Just thinking of that day, my hands begin to tremble as I continue to stare at the photo before tears came down from my eyes, some landing on the photo. The incident had separated some of us, with Yang unable to fight due to her arm and Weiss going back with her father since the four kingdoms don't know who to trust after seeing those Atlas androids shooting the civilians.

"Enrique…" A familiar voice called out.

I turned my head and saw Blake by the door, but she looked concerned upon seeing how I am right now.

I looked back at the sight of the town, seeing the lights across the district glow in the night, "I just needed air…" I muttered, putting the photo back in my pocket. I heard Blake's footsteps approaching me closer before I noticed her by my side.

"Please tell me what's wrong," she asked, concerned.

I didn't want to tell her but she was there for me. I swallowed a lump in my throat before speaking up. "I...I was having another nightmare again." I answered. "Ever since Pyrrha and Penny died, I keep having nightmares, seeing them die over and over…" I felt the tears running down from my eyes. "Just like my family…"

Blake looked at me before placing her hands on my cheeks, making me look at her. "Enrique, I know how painful it was for us to lose our two friends but they wouldn't want to see you like this." She said. "They would want you to move on, being there for the rest of us. I know you couldn't reach out for them but that doesn't mean you should give up." She pressed her forehead against mine. "You are you, the person who took his steps, helping everyone you see. The one I fell in love with."

Hearing her small speech gave me comfort. She proved a point, Pyrrha and Penny wouldn't want me to be like this, they would want me to continue on and protect everyone like I have since the day I became OOO. I let out a small smile and said to her, "You're right."

I placed my hand over hers, feeling the warmth of her skin. "They wouldn't want to see me like this including my family."

Blake let out a small smile before she gestured me to head back inside. I nodded before I followed her to our room. Once there, we went to our bed and lay ourselves down on the mattress. Blake moved herself close to me, resting her head on my shoulder. I looked at Blake who slowly fell asleep and let out a smile. I soon felt the onset of sleep, prompting me to close my eyes and let sleep take over, waiting for the next day to start.

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 36: Aftermath, Poseidon, the Quest**

It was now morning as Blake and I ate breakfast while Ankh was perched by the window eating his ice cream while watching the people walk about with their usual doings. However, I knew he is keeping an eye out for any sights of his actual body.

It has been a while since we last saw Ankh's actual body. Knowing the bird Greeed, the Lost Ankh might be searching for him as well but also watching the people. At least Lost Ankh hasn't met Kazari yet.

Not to mention it has been 3 months since Beacon fell…

For Blake and I, our relationship was doing well and we have gotten a lot closer as well. Despite the situation that often occurs with the Grimm, we still find a way to spend time together and such. How far has our relationship progressed?

You see, we have been taking things slow and it was working well for the both of us. Now… well… right now…

My girlfriend and I were now our room as we were both standing with Blake with her back against the wall while the both of us were wrapped in each other's embrace as our lips were locked passionately. She runs her hands through my hair, clawing at them slightly so she can feel every inch of my body against her own.

I unconsciously allowed my hand to travel to her chest as her cheeks grow a bright red blush from the feeling. I allowed my hand to move a bit around her chest area causing her to let out a cute sound as my hand was on her… 'treasure'. We soon pulled away from the kiss as we needed air to breathe. "You sounded cute, Blake." I teased.

"I-I'm… not cute.." She panted softly.

I let out a sly smile before I began kissing her neck ever so gently in which she let out a cute moan again before I continued to move my hand around her 'treasure' as my other hand held onto her wrist. "En...Enrique… " She moaned softly as I kiss her neck. "Ah…" I went back to kissing her on the lips.

"You _are_ cute, Blake. I won't deny it." I admitted after I pulled away.

She panted heavily, her face covered in a bright blush as her cat ears folded back. She gently clawed my chest, as if asking to take her now. A soft purr was audible as she wraps her arms around my neck, and even rubs her leg against me.

Don't get me wrong, I love Blake very much and we never left each other's side. And while we have gone through a few… 'bases', we expressed how much we love each other.

Just as we were gonna continue, a loud knock on the door of our room was heard, making the both of us stop what we were doing before we readjusted our clothes which were a bit messy from our kiss as well as Blake combing her hair as she still had a blush adorned her cheeks.

"What's wrong, Ankh?" I asked.

"Oi, have you seen my treats? I hope you didn't hide them from me again!" Ankh shouted from the other side of the door.

Blake sighed, rubbing her temples, "No, we didn't. We left them in that bag with you when you walked out to recon." She frowned, not liking that Ankh ruined our moment.

We heard silence and the sound of the Bird Greeed searching through the bags until he heard some boxes being thrown to the ground, showing that he found them and probably began to eat his usual treat, ice cream.

I let out a sigh, "I still wonder how he doesn't gain any weight from eating that much…"

"I bet it goes to his bird brain..." Blake huffs.

"I heard that!" Ankh shouted from the living room. "Like I would 'gain weight' from eating the ice candy while you two act like cats wanting love!" He shot back.

Blake blushed heavily from that, "Shut up Ankh!" She shouted, covering her face in embarrassment. I walked out of the bedroom as we see him by the window, eating his usual treats and gazing out the window. The way he was staring was like he was waiting. To our guess, he is keeping a lookout for his real body.

"Still trying to find out where your actual body is?" I asked.

"What do you think?" He scoffed, taking a bite of his treat. "Knowing that my actual body is still out there…"

"At least the good thing is that our friend Sara is okay and Vale is under protection of the RideVendor Battalion." I remembered.

Hearing that made him glare at me upon the reminder, "Don't remind me, Enrique. Just be lucky that this city hasn't been invaded by Grimm for three months..."

"Shouldn't I say that?" I raised an eyebrow. "They are protecting everyone in the city, even more the RideVendors. Kougami even hired some Huntsmen and Huntresses to help out knowing the situation."

"Che…" He muttered before looking away but Blake and I could tell that he cares about Sara since she reminds him of the little girl he met all those years ago when he was a full-powered Greeed. Maybe Nora was right, maybe Sara was his friend but reincarnated since she somewhat reminds him of the little girl 800 years ago.

I took notice of Blake heading to the shower but I felt my eyes travel down to her rear. It seemed very slender… and I swear that she likes playing with me.

Before I continue staring, I felt Ankh slap the back of my head, getting me out of my staring. "What was that for?" I asked, rubbing the back of my head to ease the pain from the backhand he delivered.

"For being an idiot and a pervert." He huffed.

"I'm not a pervert!" I denied.

"Then why were you staring at her rear?" He questioned. I stammered, trying to counter or find an answer but I only looked away. "Thought so, pervert."

"I told you, I'm not a pervert!" I argued before the both of us were butting heads again as sparks was formed as we glare at each other. Before we knew it, somehow a 'dust cloud' was formed around the both of us as we began to argue and tried to hit each other.

Blake stepped out quickly while wearing a towel around her body as she sighs, grabbing something and blew hard on it. While no sound emerged from it, for me and Ankh, it sounded liked a jet engine being fired off right next to our ears as we stopped and covered them, flinching from the pain it emitted before Blake stopped, "Now, will you two stop fighting already?"

Ankh glared at me when I was staring at her before he punched my shoulder. "We will." We said before giving a quick glare at each other.

"You think we should head out…?" I suggested for the three of us as I rub my shoulder.

Blake smiled, "That does sound nice." She agreed.

"What about you Ankh?" I asked the Bird Greeed.

He looked at me for a moment before letting out an irritated sigh, "Fine… it's better than being holed up here for hours. However..." He pointed at Blake without looking. "Stop standing there with that towel on! I rather not have the idiot here ogle more than he already has!"

A tick mark formed on my head while I looked away. Though Blake blushed before hissing and slapping Ankh hard enough as some Cell Medals spilled from his arm, for some reason. She huffed before heading back in to finish up her shower.

* * *

After getting ourselves ready along with Blake putting on a fresh set of clothes along with myself, we were now walking around in the resident district as the citizens were walking around as well. But Blake and I could tell they were still mourning for the loved ones they lost during the Battle of Beacon and the massive breach. It was gloomy to be honest...

But thanks to the RideVendors, they have been searching for them due to experience. I can guess that the RideVendors are former Huntsmen and Huntresses along with soldiers that Kougami recruited. Plus, they have been patrolling the city as well, making sure no one causes trouble along with any signs of the White Fang or Grimm.

But… I still couldn't forget that day…. Even with the 3 months that past, it didn't change the fact that it was the day lives were lost and the loss of our two best friends… Glancing a look from afar, I could see the still frozen Grimm dragon on top of Beacon Tower. Just remembering it, made me lower my head as my hands clench.

But that was until I felt Blake's hand holding onto mine, having a soft smile on her face as she nuzzles me gently, "I know Enrique… I know.." she said, knowing me too well for my own good. I turned my head to her, seeing her soft smile before a smile grew on my own.

As we walk more, I heard a ringing noise in which I stopped before reaching in my pocket and pulled out the Batta Candroid since the only ones I know who contact me via Candroid was Akira. "You guys… Akira is calling." I said to the two.

Blake lowered her head upon what I said, making me remember that she, well, the both of us ran away after what happened and we never contacted the others since with the CCT being destroyed, preventing any calls for the Scrolls to make in which the only way to contact others was the Batta Candroid. "You want me to answer…?"

"I don't think it's a good idea…" Blake frowned, worried that it could be another call to try and trace them, so Yang and Blake can talk.

I slowly nodded before pressing the panel, ignoring the call and placing the Batta Candroid back in my pocket.

"Are you two afraid or something?" Ankh questioned.

"You know why Ankh…" I replied with a down look. "It's… complicated… Being away from them for 3 months and not calling them… it's best that we be away from them…"

"Che, I will never understand you humans or Faunus… You both think by running away that your problems will never come after you…" He scoffed.

"Ankh, it isn't easy okay!" I snapped. "I am afraid of losing those I care about, Ankh! Me and Blake had to! We are afraid of losing those close to us! I know you are too!"

He scowled before grabbing the collar of my jacket, lifting me up. "Like I would be afraid!? I don't feel afraid!" He denied.

"You are Ankh…" I grimaced. "Ever since Sara nearly got hurt, you didn't want to lose her like the girl you lost 800 years ago. I know she completely reminds you of her!" His anger rose as he reared his fist back, willing to punch me as I was ready to receive it.

But instead, he just dropped me on the ground and began to walk off, but as he reached a wall, he smashed his fist through, causing a lot of damage from that blow. Blake frowned, helping me up, "He can be a jerk sometimes…" She said to me.

I sighed, "I know but he is like that after what happened to him…" We looked at the Bird Greeed as he stood where he punched the wall as if he was thinking something over. I felt guilty for saying that to him but he needed to face the facts to what has happened.

"Come on, I think we should head back to the apartment." She insisted.

"Yeah… you're probably right." I nodded before my eyes flashed purple for a moment, my Semblance reacting to the nearby presence of a homunculus filled with Cell Medals. "Ankh…"

"I know, I sense it too…" He replied, moving his fist away from the wall.

The three of us looked around, being on guard as my eyes remained purple to detect the source.

"Well… well…. Well…" A familiar voice said, making my body freeze. I slowly looked back and saw a familiar Alchemist. "I finally found you, 'former' Core Vessel." It was Gara, fully healed and having his signature grin.

Blake stood in front of me, her arms holding out to prevent Gara from doing anything, "What do you want, monster?!" She shouted out. Even Ankh was holding back the urge to kill Gara since he was responsible for what happened to me before the Vytal Festival.

A crazy grin formed on his face before reaching for something in his coat, making all three of us prepare ourselves. He soon pulled out an object from his coat, revealing a circular buckle which had a jagged edge around it. In the buckle was also three openings that look to hold… Core Medals. "Revenge for preventing me from completing the perfect Greeed." He placed the buckle on his waist, a belt materializing around it, catching us by surprise.

He then presented three Core Medals we never seen before and placed them onto the Buckle, instead of placing them in like a coin machine, the openings expanded as he placed them in before the openings shrunk, keeping the Cores in place. "Henshin!" Gara announced, as if it by command, the driver on his waist began to spin.

 **SAME**!

 **KUJIRA**!

 **OOKAMIUO**!

He became surrounded by three spinning coloured Medals which accompanied the transformation. In front of him, we saw images of the three Medals he was using appear. Same was of course on the top, Kujira was in the middle, and Ookamiuo was at the bottom. The three images then formed into one large, inverted, triangular crest which flew backwards and into his chest. His body then became enveloped in energy which swiftly hardened into solid armour.

He now wore a black bodysuit under his three-toned suit of armor. His torso armor was dark blue and had matching gauntlets which were primarily black with deep blue trim. The shoulders were asymmetrical as a whale's tail jutted from the left and a whale's head was on the right. On the chest were symbols resembling aquatic animals arranged in an inverted triangle. Hanging from his belt were red hip plates. The same red armor adorned his legs in boots. His helmet was aqua blue, sporting a pair of yellow eyes and three fins that were pointed forwards. One of the fins was on the tip of the helmet while the other two flanked his faceplate, framing his mouth. In the centre of his belt was a circular buckle which had a jagged edge around it. What caught my attention were the three Core Medals he had embedded in his buckle: Same (Shark), Kujira (Whale) and Ookamiuo (Wolf Fish).

He actually has his own set of Core Medals. The three of us were shocked to what we witnessed. He created his own Driver and is in armor.

"You… You created another power…" Ankh uttered.

Gara chuckled evilly as he slanted his new Lance, leaning forward as he spoke. " **Didn't you forget, Ankh?** _ **I**_ **was the creator of the O-Driver. If I can make the O-Driver then I am able to make another. However what lacks is being able to use a Full Combo and the same materials for the O-Driver. Was I disappointed? Yes. But, my new power can match the Full Combos you hold."** He explains with an amused tone. " **Plus this era is more interesting for me to find the perfect essence to make more Cores to add to my collection."**

I gritted my teeth at the alchemist who stood straight up. " **And now, in this armor, the name is now Poseidon, named after the Greek God of Water from your home world!"** He pointed his Lance at me. " **And now I finally have the power to kill you, boy and take back those three purple Core Medals!"**

The now renamed Poseidon charges towards us three, prompting me to grab the O-Driver and placed it on my waist, the belt wrapped around me and I quickly placed the King Combo into the slots. Once titled, I grabbed the O-Scanner and scanned the medals.

"Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

Now in the TaToBa form, I quickly blocked Poseidon's Lance and tried to strike him, only for him to block it and strike me across the chest, sparks casting off the armor.

Poseidon was gonna strike me again but was stopped by Blake's ribbon which was wrapped out his gauntlet. **"Pesky animal**!" He growled as he pulled back but Ankh took the chance as he thrusted his blade at Poseidon who blocked it before the Bird Greeed delivered a haymaker at the armored alchemist.

The armored alchemist stumbled back from the hit before looking at Ankh. " **Impressive Ankh. Even in that flesh puppet you are in, you have made it slowly adjust to your skills."** Poseidon mused before blocking the red blade that Ankh wielded, their weapons locked. " **I wondered why you trained your newest student."**

Ankh growled as if something triggered a memory. " **Oh that's right. You haven't trained anyone since you lost that child, a friend you called it, that you cared about. Such a shame."**

Seeing that he is making Ankh bring back bad memories, I took point as I charge at Poseidon with a swift strike using the Medajalibur. "Ankh, don't let Poseidon's words get to you." I said, blocking the Lance that was gonna pierce me. "I know you won't make the same mistake again." I punched Poseidon away from us before using the Batta Legs to deliver a double kick.

" **Hmph. As for you…"** Poseidon scoffed for a moment before vanishing before my very eyes. And in a second, I felt a sharp pain as sparks flew off my armor. I quickly turned around to see Poseidon standing behind me. **"You are still very weak.. I'm surprised you lived this long?"** He sighed before he swung his lance as me, more pain came from it as I was tossed away from him.

"Enrique!" Blake shouted out, drawing out her Gambol Shroud before pulling the trigger, Dust Bullets flying out and striking Poseidon but it barely did any effect as he slowly turned to her.

" **Ho? Never thought of you to have a pet, OOO…"** He said, walking towards Blake slowly.

I gritted my teeth in anger as I slowly got up. My hand clenching as I focus on my Semblance, my Aura glowing before it formed the three Purple cores in which landed in my hand as I then replaced the three medals in the buckle with the purple cores and scanned them.

 **PTERA!**

 **TRICERA!**

 **TYRANNO!**

 **PU-TO-TYRA NO ZAURU~!**

The crests of the said Cores aligned and formed the PuToTyra armor as ice formed around me before shattering and I charged at the newly armored enemy. Using the Medajalibur and struck him across the armor. When he tried to strike me, it only made it be nothing since I was in the Invincible Combo.

" **Che… That devil power you have won't help you…"** Poseidon scoffed, gesturing me to strike him.

Our weapons locked once more as we were glaring at each other, our power at a stalemate, the both of us trying to overpower the other. I couldn't use too much knowing that I would be subjecting myself to Greedification if I do. So, I used the Tricera Spikes to pierce his armor then used Tyranno tail and swing him away from us, crashing into the wall as the Alchemist's armor was smoking and he stumbled a bit.

" **Che…. I'm getting bored of this boy…. I think I shall end this fight we have and take my medals back."** Poseidon stated to me.

We got ourselves prepared for another round but Poseidon saw members of the RideVendor Battalion approaching making him growl. " **Damn…"** he cursed from the number. He looked at us three before pointing his lance at me. " **Know this, OOO. This is only the beginning, I** _ **will**_ **do what my King should have done 800 years ago. This is the beginning for the Rise of Poseidon!"**

And like that, Poseidon vanished into thin air, leaving us restless that he now has the power of new Core Medals, and one that can match my PuToTyra power. I turned to Blake as she walked up to me, a worried look on her face, "Are you alright, Enrique?" she asked.

I tilted the buckle back, dispelling the armor and nodded, "I'm alright…" I turned to where Gara vanished. "But now Gara has his own power… We have to be careful." I took a deep breath before looking at Blake. "Let's head back to the apartment…"

She nodded as the three of us made our way back to the apartment. However, I was in my thoughts upon what happened. Gara, now calling himself Poseidon, has made his own Driver with those three Cores he has. It brought concern for me knowing that it will be a tough fight the next time we face him.

* * *

Back at our room, we pondered over what happened while Ankh was in his room, fiddling with the Core Medals we have. Gara now being a warrior, similar to me as a rider, known as Poseidon, and what's worse is that he has power rivaling that of a Full Greeed. Not even my power could make much dents in him… and I fear this was only a fraction of his true power that he is trying to achieve.

I clenched my hands upon the memory of when Poseidon tried to harm Blake. There has to be something that can stop Gara from getting stronger… there has to be… If I can't find a way sooner or later then he will harm everyone I care about. I didn't want that to happen again…

"Are you sure you're okay…?" Blake asked, now wearing her yukata sleepwear without having her bow on.

"I'm…" I wanted to say I was okay but I had to be honest to her; she is everything to me. "I'm not okay… I'm just… Just scared of losing you… I don't want to lose anyone to Gara…" I admitted. "Not after what happened three months ago…"

She smiles softly, placing her hand on my cheek, "You will never lose me Enrique…. I'm yours now… And nothing will change that…" She leans in to give me a tender kiss to which I return... It felt comforting for me to hear her words.

Though the moment was ruined yet again by Ankh, walking into the room as he slams his fst against the wall, creating more damages. I swear, if he doesn't stop, they'll kick us out cause we can't afford the repairs!

"Gara… That cynical bastard…." Ankh growled out.

"Ankh, look we understand what we saw earlier," I said. "I know that Gara made his own power with his own Cores to use. But we have to just find a way."

"No…. You don't understand Enrique…" Ankh said, his fist and body trembling more and more. "If he now has the ability to make more medals _that_ easily, then he has more than enough power to…. To…." He lowered his head, not wanting to finish his sentence.

"To what, Ankh?" Blake asked.

"He has more than enough power to erase our medals if he comes in contact with them…." He finished. "He _is_ the creator after all. If he made them then he can break them." He pointed at me. "But the only thing in his way is you since the three Purple Cores are now your Aura/Semblance. In other words, you are an antithesis to the Cores he makes. Before the festival, he wanted to make the Dino Greeed from you since without desires and with desires, he would basically have the only way to stop him but since it didn't happen, he wants you dead." He said, before looking up at us, "And should he obtain the medals we have instead of destroying them…. He can erase Vale in an instant…."

"So if he gets the Core Medals we have… then everything will be gone…" I realized. "Then we have to find a way to stop him for good and destroy whatever Medals he makes!"

"There is only one place I know that can provide the answers to defeat Gara for good…" Ankh muttered. "The Lost Kingdom."

Hearing this made the both of us look at him. "But Ankh, didn't they take away every single evidence involving the Multi-King?" I pointed out.

"They didn't take down the ruins."

"What are you talking about?" Blake asked.

Ankh let out a sigh of irritation before looking out the window. "When us Greeed confronted his Majesty, the day I was betrayed by him, the kingdom was already in ruins due to his actions." He answered. "Kougami did bring old artifacts from there, in other words it is still intact."

"Do you know where the kingdom is?"

Ankh walked to the desk to grab the map before placing it on the table. "It's northwest from here," he pointed at the said place, the island shaped like a dragon that was breathing out fire.

"You mean the Lost Kingdom was close by all this time…" Blake uttered.

"What do you think?" replied the Bird Greeed.

"Then that settles it, we are heading to that island so we can find the answer to stop Gara for good." I declared. "We have been staying here too long and it's about time we leave and stop Gara, Kazari, and Cinder…" I clenched my hands. "I know they won last time but we won't let it happen again. Not again."

Blake placed her hand on my shoulder while Ankh leaned against the chair, "You're right." She agreed.

"It's better than lazing around this town." Ankh huffed. "I was already getting bored of fighting the Grimm at the other district."

"Then let's get ready to go." I declared.

With that said, all three of us went to grab our new combat/casual attire to put on. In the bedroom that Blake and I sleep in, I was looking at myself in the mirror after I changed out of my pajamas and into my usual attire.

I put on my jacket that I have kept with me before I looked at the dogs tags in my hand before I clenched them before putting them on, allowing it to hang around my neck and placing it under my shirt. "Semper fi…" I muttered to myself before leaving the room to see Blake already in her clothes.

"You sure you want to do this?" Blake asked.

"If anything, we have to stop Gara before he causes more trouble." I nodded.

"Then let's go, I am already waiting to get out of this stupid boredom." Ankh said impatiently.

Blake and I just rolled our eyes as we started to get ready by packing what we needed. And after packing everything together, we made our way to the door before I stopped, making Ankh look at me in annoyance, "What is it now?"

"Before we go, I think this is also a good chance to visit Beacon Tower one last time." I replied, raising my head to the two.

"What? Why would you even want to go there, you idiot?" Ankh questioned.

"We are not gonna come back here to Vale, Ankh." I replied. "And knowing that we are heading to the Lost Kingdom to find the answer to beating Gara, who knows how long we will be there."

"I see… Very well.. We can visit her before you leave. Unlike you all, she did have good skill." Ankh said.

We both sighed before we grabbed our bags and left the apartment to visit Pyrrha's grave one last time.

* * *

The three of us headed up to the Beacon tower once again to visit Pyrrha's grave to say our last words before we depart. The Grimm activity has decreased thankfully since the RideVendor Battalion and the three of us have been clearing out Grimm in the area since they have been attracted by the Dragon Grimm.

When we made it to the top of the tower, Blake and I approached the grave we made for her as we placed flowers in front of it, paying our respects once again. In front of the flowers was a small stone, with Pyrrha's head piece on top. Blake leaned next to me, having her hand wrap around mine, though I could feel her trembling softly.

It was a painful day for us to remember. "I still miss her…." Blake said softly. "Why did she have to die? She…. she had a future unlike the rest of us… She even finally shown Jaune her feelings…. And now…"

"She fought to the very end to protect everyone…" I replied, gently holding her hand. "And we promised that we will do our very best to stop those like Gara…"

"We should get going you two…" Ankh pointed out.

We gave one last look at Pyrrha's grave before we quickly made our way out of the tower as Ankh got onto his RideVendor while Blake and I got on the other and drove away.

"How will we get to the Lost Kingdom?" Blake asked.

"I know one person that can help us get there. You might hate this idea, Ankh." I replied before taking a deep breath. "... We are heading to the Kougami Foundation to see Kougami and request a Bullhead to get there."

"ARE YOU INSANE OR JUST THICKHEADED?!" He shouted, "I will NOT risk any more of my medals for that thief!"

"He is the only person we know with enough resources for the three of us to get there." I pointed out. "Who else would we go to in order for us to get there?"

He growled before he finally said, "Fine! But you owe me a few boxes of the ice candy!"

Upon agreeing much to his irritation, we made our way to the Kougami Foundation which was a bit of a long drive but we eventually made it to the location. We got off of the motorcycles upon the building. It has been a while since we have last been here.

"Can't believe I am agreeing to this…" Ankh muttered.

"Hey, maybe if you're good, he'll give you some ice pops?" Blake teased.

The Bird Greeed glared at the both of us before we entered the building. I approached the front desk, seeing the receptionist. "Excuse me, can I speak to Kougami?" I asked.

The receptionist looked up, seeing me, Blake, and Ankh. "He has been waiting for you three. He is at the top floor," she smiled, gesturing to the elevator.

We walked towards the elevator, but once it opened, we were greeted by an unexpecting face, "Enrique? Blake? Ankh?" Standing in the elevator was none other than Goodwitch, surprised to see us.

"Professor Goodwitch?" Blake and I said at the same time. "What are you doing here? We… haven't seen you since…"

"Since…. The fall of Beacon… I know…." she sighed, "As to answer your question, I work here now."

That was then Ankh cackled upon this, "The stern Goodwitch now working for the good for nothing old bastard? Hahahaha!"

That was when Goodwitch used her riding crop to pin Ankh to the ground, much to his displease, "Keep it up Ankh… Otherwise I may ask Kougami to penalize you further to only having one Cell Medal…" She taunted him.

He scowled before finally keeping quiet in which Goodwitch stopped as Ankh got back up. "So Kougami hired you…?" Blake said.

The former professor nodded, "After the fall… This Foundation has used much resources to protect Vale due to the RideVendor Battalion. They are still continuing with rescue missions which somewhat surprised me to see how capable Kougami is." She explained. "Now, most of the Squadrons are former Huntsmen or Huntresses."

"So what? Then that makes you a member of the RideVendor Battalion?" Ankh raised an eyebrow, arms crossed.

"Yes. Though, I did not expect you three to be here. I'll direct you to Kougami's office…." She said, gesturing us to follow her inside the elevator.

We entered the elevator as Goodwitch pressed the button, the doors closing and began to elevate to the top floor.

"So…" I started, trying to begin a conversation with our now former professor. "How long have you been working here, Professor Goodwitch?"

"For 2 months, a month after the Fall…" She replied. "I take it you two have been staying here…?"

"Well… we have… for now at least," I answered.

And just in time, the elevator doors opened to reveal the path to Kougami's office. We followed Goodwitch as she got hold of the door handle and opened it, revealing Ms. Haven and Kougami who was baking another cake, humming happy birthday but behind him was footage of the fight, but this surprised Goodwitch upon seeing the armored figure who was shown in the footage.

"Kougami." Goodwitch called out.

The said man looked up and saw the four of us. "Ah, you arrived. Today is a special day! The birth of a new power!" He gestured to the image of Poseidon.

"You know, I'm standing right here?" I pointed out, frowning, "I rather _not_ be reminded of him?"

"Do you know something, Enrique?" Goodwitch asked.

"That warrior is really Gara who created his own Driver, calling himself Poseidon. Named after the God of water where I'm from." I answered as my hand clenched. "And his power is on par with the Invincible Combo..

"That is exactly why we should celebrate! A new life being made from the power of desires!" Kougami beamed out, lighting the candles on the cake that he just finished.

My hands clenched more, feeling upset until I felt Blake's hand. I turned my head to look at her, seeing her give a soft smile. Deciding to calm down, I looked at Kougami, "Listen, Kougami there's something I would like to request."

"Oh? What kind of request?"

"I would like to request a bullhead to the ruins of the Lost Kingdom."

"You wish to use a bullhead to the Lost Kingdom?" Kougami repeated.

"It's the only place that can provide answers to stopping Gara, Kougami." I replied, placing my hands on the desk. "I understand we still have to collect Cell Medals for you but this is something that Blake, Ankh, and I need to do… to stop the people responsible for the destruction they caused in Vale and Beacon Academy. We're doing this not just for our friends but for everyone. When I reach out to help those in need..." I clenched my hands. "..I keep my word to the very end… I don't want to let anyone down again..."

Kougami was silent, he sighed softly before walking over to the mini fridge in his room. He opened it up and brought out a box that was inside it, he smiled at us, opening it up to reveal a cake for…. Us? "SUBARASHI! That is the response I like to hear for you, Enrique. Go. Take a bullhead and search for your answers. Let this be your desire. The desire to protect and save all. With that in your mind and heart, you'll be able to defeat anyone in your way, maybe even gain a new power from it?" He beamed out, handing us the cake. The cake had chibi faces resembling us, along with the rest of RWBY and JNPR.

Seeing it brought back memories before the Fall, my times with my friends… the ones I consider family to me. A smile grew on my face as I nodded.

"Now before you depart!" He snapped his fingers. Ms. Haven soon brought three cases, placing them on the desk and opened the first two, revealing… another Birth Buster and Birth Driver!?

"You made another set!?" Ankh questioned.

"That's correct! However it is only in the Prototype stage but still functional. And~ it is for you, Ankh." He said.

"How am I- wait, can you repeat that?" He argued at first until he stopped and asked to make sure he wasn't hearing things.

"I said, it's the Prototype, and it's for you, Ankh." He repeated.

He slowly looked at the belt before grabbing hold of it before looking at the Birth Buster. "Why would you give this to me? A Greeed that is an enemy to the rest of you?"

"Simple! You are different than the other Greeed, Ankh. After all… you _were_ known for your former kindness between humans and Faunus." Kougami smiled. To me, it felt like Ankh was gonna punch Kougami but… instead he merely nodded, as if he admitted it. He closed the cases while placing the Birth Buster by his side.

"And now for you, Enrique." The assistant opened the third case since it was slightly longer than the other two cases that were placed on the table. She opened it to reveal a black device along with a small black box.

"What's this?" I asked him.

"Well, that device is an attachment to your Medajalibur. It'll upgrade its power, and give it a gun form too." He explained.

"And the black box?" Blake asked.

" _That_ …. Is only mean to be open in a time of need… In a time where there is no hope left for you all…" He said cryptically.

I grabbed the device to examine it before I unsheathe the Medajalibur. I looked at the two objects a few times before pressing the key on the device. It opened up before attaching to the blade, fusing with it and now the color changed. From its silver and blue, to now a full black blade, with purple lines replacing the blue down the middle, and the blue edge of the blade was now purple. The hilt of the blade had a hidden gun as it morphed into a weapon, resembling a pistol, but handcannon sized.

Once back in its sword mode, I twirled the sword as a grin formed in my face. "A perfect blade," I commented before placing it in its sheath. "Thank you, Kougami."

"Good luck, OOO."

After getting our weapons, all three of us went to the landing area where the other bullheads that were owned by the Foundation are. As Ankh got inside, Blake and I were with Goodwitch.

"Professor, thank you for what you have done during our days at Beacon." Blake thanked.

"And for helping everyone learn what it means to be a Huntsman and Huntress…" I added.

She had a soft smile on her face, finally showing it for once, nodding to us, "Even without what happened… I believe you two would become excellent Hunters and Huntresses… Stay safe you two… And please… come back safe." She said to us.

Blake and I smiled, "There was a saying my dad would say during his days, Professor. Semper Fidelis." Hearing this made the professor confused until I continued. "In translation, it means Always Faithful. And that is what we all are, Professor. We are faithful to what we promise to our friends and family."

"Good luck you two…." She smiled, heading back into the office.

The two of us soon entered the Bullhead as Ankh was in the pilot's seat. "Since when do you know about driving a bullhead?" Blake asked the Bird Greeed.

He presented a manual, "This. Does that answer your question?" Ankh threw the said manual behind him before he started the controls, the bullhead now soaring into the sky as Blake and I looked out from the window.

"After 3 months, we are finally starting a mission…." I said.

Blake nodded as she moved herself closer, nuzzling me. "Maybe…. We can put a stop to this and everything goes back to normal?"

"I hope so…" I responded. "If we stop Gara, the only thing left to do would be… Finding Ruby and the others… I know we have been away from them but… a part of me wants to see them since they are family to me while the other part wants to be away from them after what we decided to do since that day…"

"I…. I know… But.. what would they say? We pretty much abandon them… They… they could hate us for that…" Blake frowned, her head lowered, unsure what Yang would say or even do.

"Maybe we can find our answer when we see them again…" I answered, gently bringing her close to me. She cuddles close to me, sighing softly as my hold as we wait to get to the Lost Kingdom. She had her hand on mine, holding it softly. I could easily tell she's still glad we admitted our feelings… I feel like that without myself telling her that, I wouldn't know what to do… Maybe I would've stayed put in the safe area and didn't even try to be a Kamen Rider. But now…. I feel like nothing can stop me. I lifted the black box, looking at it carefully, wondering what it held.

"Blake?" I asked her, she looked up at me before I handed her the box, "I feel like you should hold onto this… Maybe it's a power that only we can use together?"

She smiled and nodded, "I'll keep it safe…." She said to me, as she put it away in her pocket.

As the flight continued, I saw Ankh was resting with a loud snore while keeping the bullhead on autopilot. I found it ironic and amusing since Ankh is a Bird Greeed while flying the bullhead, making me let out a soft chuckle. I looked at Blake as she seemed distracted about something. "Something wrong, Blake?" I asked softly.

"Just… thinking is all…" She said softly.

"Thinking of what?"

"Just…. What Gara plans on trying to do to us is all…." She frowns, worried about his plans.

Hearing this made me look out the window. "Don't worry, Blake… we won't let whatever he will do happen." I assured before looking at her, giving her a soft smile. "And we will stop him."

She smiled upon my words as I decided to give her a passionate kiss. She blushed for a moment before it faded as she closed her eyes. Her cat ears folded down, as the bow bent as she hummed softly as she kissed me back, placing her hand on my cheek.

"If you two pork back there, I'll throw you off…" Ankh said, causing us to quickly part from the kiss. "Good." He soon went back to sleep. Seriously, how can he even tell what some do behind his back? Then again, he is a Bird Greeed so he must have eyes on the back of his head.

* * *

Later on we finally arrived at the Lost Kingdom. It was covered in ancient, ruined buildings and structures of the whole place. Almost looking like a huge graveyard for what Vale and the rest of Remnant could become… It was eerie and felt wrong.

"After 800 years… still hasn't changed, excluding the plants that are covering them…" Ankh said, walking ahead of us. We slowly followed behind him, wondering where he was heading to. We made it to what seems to be a plaza since there was an old fountain as the water was not clean. He looked around before he turned his head to a building and slowly approached it. When he made it to the door, he stopped as he hands slightly… trembled…

"Ankh…? Are you okay?" I asked.

"Just shut up…" He said. "It's nothing…" He slowly opened the door as it reveals a large room, almost like an old living room. Ankh slowly entered the room as he looked around before Blake and I entered. We saw old items of 800 years ago. As I took more steps, I felt my foot step on something in which I looked down, moving my foot away. I knelt down, moving away the dirt and saw a very old portrait… I looked up and saw Ankh enter a room, showing he is out of our view in which I looked at Blake. "Blake, over here." I called her. "Look at this portrait."

She walked over to me as I showed her the old portrait. It showed a woman but with her was a little girl with pink hair and her dull-grey eyes, showing she was blind. But it wasn't the only thing shown, with them was a certain Bird Greeed when he was in his real body as the little girl held his hand.

"Is… this her?" Blake asked, "She does look a lot like Sara… It's eerie.."

She was right about that, the little girl in the portrait and remembering Sara, they look the same if Sara was a little girl. "What if Nora was right?" I whispered. "What if she is her but reincarnated?"

"You have a point…" She nodded, looking at the portrait. "It was like the little girl really cared about Ankh… and her mother seemed to not mind at all either…"

We heard Ankh's footsteps, prompting us to quickly get up and saw him holding something in his hand. In his hand was an old fashioned, small stuff toy. I looked at the old portrait then at him, "Ankh, here, I think you should keep it." I insisted.

"No…. I won't need it…" He said, placing the stuffed toy in front of the portrait.

"But don't you-"

"I. Don't. Need. It." He said sternly, his bang shadowing his eyes. "We will be sleeping in this place for the night… don't bother me…" He stood up, grabbed a sleeping bag and went to the room he walked out of before closing the wooden door.

"Ankh must have really cared about her…" My eyes soften from this. "I never seen him like this…"

"Do… Do you think he loved her?" Blake asked.

I rubbed the back of my head from that question. "I… don't know plus the girl was really young from what we can see in the portrait." I pointed out. "And Ankh doesn't know feelings remember? But seeing as how he is still controlling his host… he is experiencing what we feel, the experience of emotions and such…" I looked out the window as the sun began to set. "We should set out the two sleeping bags." I walked over to our bags as I took off my jacket and grabbed the two sleeping bags before I placed them on the ground after sweeping away the dust and cobwebs that was around the room. After setting down my sleeping bag, I glance a look at Blake, seeing her look out the window.

I approached her before placing my hand on her shoulder but just from the touch, she jumped a bit, making me concerned. "Blake, are you alright?"

"No…. I think I'm fine.." she said, moving herself close to me.

While I do wonder what was wrong, I assume was the paranoia she was experiencing for a while now. While we are alone, she didn't show it but when we are out in public, that was where I get worried about her. Hell there were a few times she felt it during our travel here.

"Just know I am here for you, okay?" I assured her.

She nodded before the both of us went into our sleeping bags. While she slowly fell asleep, I focused on what we will find. Hopefully there will be something that can help me-no, all three of us to beat Gara for good.

* * *

 _In the old bedroom, Ankh was on the ground, looking at his Greeed arm. The room he was in… it was the room that the little girl he once knew lived in. It was too painful… since when can he feel the utter sadness…_

' _Promise you will protect me, Ankhy.' the echoes of the little girl's voice echoed in his mind. 'Promise you will be with me to see the world as I grow up.'_

 _Remembering the promise he made, he suddenly felt something running down his face. He moved his hand to what it was and saw what he couldn't believe._

 _Tears of sadness..._

" _Why… can I feel this emotion….?" He asked himself. "I can't feel these emotions... it's all in the flesh puppet…"_

 _A faint memory appeared in his mind. He tried to shake it off but it only grew stronger. 'Ankhy.' A voice rang in his mind. Burning back into his memories once again, he tried to hold it off, but it didn't work as her face and smile returned into his memories as some tears ran down his face._

" _No more I can't let it get to me…" He muttered, turning away. However the name and image kept on coming back. He closed his eyes, lacing his hands on his head not wanting more but when he opened his eyes he saw the surroundings looked like it was as if it was in normal condition before the King went mad._

 _He noticed he was standing and he was like a ghost. He looked back at the bed seeing the little girl placing her hands on the book, her hands tracing over the pages due to her blindness. She was humming until the sound of a window opened. He turned around, seeing himself when he was at full power._ _ **"Little bird…"**_ _He called out._

 _The little girl turned to the window and her smile beamed. "Ankhy!" She beamed, running up to him. "You're back!" She nearly tripped until Ankh from the past prevented her fall._

" _ **You should be careful… I told you before."**_ _He sighed._

" _Why? I know you'll help me." She smiled to him._

 _He sighed, "_ _ **You're… right about that…"**_

" _Can you help me see the world again, Ankhy? Please?"_

" _ **Fine... "**_

 _The girl's smile grew before hugging him. "You are the best, Ankhy!" she said._

 _Before he knew it, his surroundings went back to the way it was now. He felt more tears running down his eyes, causing him to fall to his knees. "I can't feel sadness… I can't remember this... " His voice finally choked. "Damn it flesh puppet, stop it… I don't need to see more memories…!"_

" _Geez man… You serious need to stop calling me that… I have a name ya know?" A voice rang out in his mind._

 _He quickly got up looking around. "Who…"_

' _It's me ya know. The one you are controlling?'_

 _He looked at the slightly shattered mirror and saw his host, Nathan Westborn. "What do_ you _want? Why make me experience this!?"_

" _It's not me making you do this. It's your own mind and heart." Nathan said to him, the host in the mirror crossing his arms as if he was trapped in there for Ankh to see._

" _I can't experience what you humans and Faunus feel!" He snapped. "I am a Greeed! We have a void in our own souls!"_

" _And who told you that? Gara? The King?" He frowned._

" _We were born with nothing! NO feelings, NO memory, NO personality, and NO purpose! We were a Blank Slate"_

" _You seriously believe that?" Nathan questioned, stepping out of the mirror like a phantom as he walked over to Ankh._

" _What do you think?"_

 _Nathan sighed, and oddly enough gave Ankh a hard slap. The Bird Greeed reeling back from the blow, "Wake up you idiot…. You and the other Greeed always had a soul. You just didn't realize or wanted to accept it." He pointed at the Greeed arm. "Didn't you say the Cores are the source of your conscious?"_

" _So?"_

" _So… that's showed the Cores hold your soul." He replied. "How else would you be able to produce Aura? I mean sure you can only be hurt by Core Energy but if you didn't have a soul, you wouldn't have this Aura. And don't say it's mine…. You can easily tell that my Aura is minimal compared to yours."_

 _He growled. "I…" He tried to argue._

 _Nathan sighed, "And I thought my older brother was a little harsh…" he looked at the Bird Greeed. "Ankh, being soulless would be like the Grimm. Only death and bloodshed but you and the other Greeed, you guys are only doing this to fill the void you all have with Desires."_

" _That is what we do, well the others do..."_

" _But tell me this Ankh…. If you think you need to fill the void, why would your heart say otherwise?" Nathan asked, as he moves to the side to show a picture of the little girl then she changes into what appears to be Sara. "To me… Your Core Energy, your soul, and your heart, is telling you, that you have everything you can need…" Behind Sara then showed Enrique, Blake, Ruby, the rest of Team RWBY, JNPR and more._

 _He clenched his hands as the memories were coming back in his mind. From the day he gave Enrique the O-Driver to now. "Alright…" He said quietly._

" _What was that?"_

" _Alright! I get it!" He snapped._

 _Nathan smiled at him, nodding, "Good… And Ankh? You should realize this as well…" Nathan slowly began to fade away, "You're not just some doll made of Desires… You're a living being… and one of the First Five Huntsmen. Keep that in mind alright?" And like that, Nathan faded away, fully, back into his sleeping mind. Ankh looked at the human hand and his Greeed arm, then turns his head to see the picture of the girl he knew, flashes of Sara showed in his head as a soft smile and oddly enough a soft blush appeared on his face. He quickly slapped himself to keep his mind together. "I hate this…" He muttered before falling back to his sleeping bag. He sighed before closing his eyes and falling asleep._

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Blazing: Taka (x2), Kujaku (x1), Condor (x1)**

 **Scorching: Lion (x1), Tora (x2), Cheetah (x1)**

 **Strongest: Kuwagata (x1), Kamakiri (x1), Batta (x1)**

 **Legendary: Kobura (x1), Kame (x1), Wani (x1)**

 **Water: Shachi (x1), Tako (x1), Unagi (x1)**

 **Gravity: Sai (x1), Gorilla (x1), Zou (x2)**

 **Invincible: Ptera (x1), Tricera (x1), Tyranno (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

"So this is where the Multi-King lived at…" I said, looking at the surroundings.

After a while of running, Blake and I came to a stop as the cloaked figure was tracing her fingers across a wall. "Look… just who are you?" I asked. "How do you know about the Multi-King."

" _Time to bring you as a Homunculus." He poured the last piece onto the Core and Cell Medals._

 **Next Time:** Lost Kingdom, Last Alchemist, Secrets

* * *

 **A/N:** Well that is it for part one of the Rise of Poseidon Arc! I hope you all enjoyed the debut of Poseidon as well as the fight. I wonder what will happen next as we are getting close to the last chapter of this story. Well we will find out soon enough, see you all later.


	38. Chapter 37: Lost Kingdom, Last Alchemist

**A/N:** What is up everyone! I am here with the second part of the Rise of Poseidon arc of OOO! I hope you enjoyed the previous chapter of the arc. I know some of you are waiting for the next update of my Chalice story but my mind has been trying to come up with ideas for it but I won't abandon that story! Just hang on and that chapter will be up before you know it! Also, don't forget to check out my newest story, **Chalice: The Wild Card Chronicles (Kamen Rider Blade x High School DxD)**.

I am glad you guys are enjoying the story so far and that I am thankful. Anyways let us continue the new arc shall we?

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _With the three months that passed since the Fall, it was gloomy in Vale after what happened. To the enemy, it was a small taste of victory._

 _For most…_

 _By most, it meant one person was_ not _very happy since that day. That person being the leader of the Vale faction of the White Fang, Adam Taurus._

 _He was currently staring at his soldiers begin their task while he couldn't fight since his right arm allowed him to wield his Wilt and Blush. His reason to that missing right arm… was because of that human, OOO. After that cursed loss, he wanted to know more about the person he vowed to kill. Only think he was able to learn was he was a human with no record or history. Nothing about him._

 _He still could feel the severe pain from when OOO beat him. The same sharp, agonizing pain. And that purple form he saw, always followed him through his dreams. No matter what happens, he can always see it… and never stop it. That purple armor gave him invincible power and he couldn't do anything to beat him._

" _Still moping?" He raised his head to see Kazari in his human form._

" _Get out, you rat…" He growled at the Greeed._

 _Kazari leaned against the wall, "Three months and you still didn't do anything? That's not you now, is it?"_

" _I said, shut it!" He shouted, standing up, "My only goal right now is to kill that human!"_

" _Not in that condition," he pointed at the stump._

" _He's nothing but a worthless human… I'll win next time…" He glared._

" _A human who had the power to end you if he allowed it," He chuckled. "I mean look at me. If I was complete, I would have been able to take down everyone."_

" _Heh, sure. Like how you could take out OOO back then." He scoffed._

 _The bull Faunus gasped for air as he saw Kazari in his Greeed form, lifting him up by the throat without effort. "_ _ **May I remind you that I am the reason that Cinder lady sees you as a valuable ally?"**_ _He brought him close to his menacing red eyes, the claws extended. "_ _ **Don't you wish to live and kill OOO? If so, then I suggest you, how you say? Choose your words carefully?"**_

 _Adma soon gasped with air as Kazari let go of him. He panted as he tried to gain his air and footing back from the Greeed's grip. He hated being used by this monster. And the quicker he gets stronger and finds a way to be capable of harming the Greeed and Yummies, the quicker he'll be to not only take him out, but OOO as well. Along with making sure Blake never defy's him again._

 _He glanced at his soldiers, "I have a mission for some of you!" His soldiers diverted their attention to him, standing straight upon his voice. "Go find me this human!" He showed the image of OOO along with the image of a certain cat Faunus. "If you see the blade he wields without the armor, it will show he is OOO. You are to bring him to me alive as well as bringing back the traitor."_

 _Kazar hummed in amusement to see the desire of revenge that Adam has._

" _ **What are you standing around for? Go do what he is ordering you,"**_ _Kazari said to the White Fang soldiers. They all nodded as they quickly rushed out, ready to deploy and find their new target._

 _Adam then glanced at one of the other soldiers. "And find me something so I can fight again." He ordered. "The sooner I can fight, the sooner I can kill that OOO."_

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Chapter 37: Lost Kingdom, Last Alchemist, Secrets**

Morning has rose, the night since we explored the Lost Kingdom has gone by. I slowly opened my eyes and yawned before sitting up. Stretching my arms out, I felt some relief before glancing at the sleeping bag that Blake was in. Walking over to her, I knelt down as I see her resting peacefully.

After all that went down three months ago, I made sure she was safe after that fight against _him_. Even my fight against that woman… Cinder.

Flashbacks of that day came back, causing me to shake my head, pushing those bad memories aside. Taking deep breaths, I calmed myself down before I gently sat down next to Blake as she sleeps. I gently stroke her hair, giving her a sense of peace and comfort.

Blake smiled softly in her sleep as that familiar purring can be easily heard. Causing me to smile softly as I continued to stroke her hair as gently as possible.

"Blake, wake up," I called out to her softly.

"Ngh…. comfy…" Blake muttered.

"We still have to keep exploring the Lost Kingdom, remember?" I reminded.

"Ngh… nuuu… Warm…. Comfy…" Blake whined softly, not wanting to move.

I sighed before a sly grin appeared. I focused on my Semblance, forming a small ice cube before gently placing it on her neck.

Her ears shot up before she jumped out of the sleeping bag and onto a small piece of rubble before hissing at me. She then blinked and shook her head before she got off of it, "If you tell anyone about that…. I'm going to deny it." she huffed.

"Your secret is safe with me," I promised with a sly grin. "It was cute to see you react to a small piece of ice."

She blushed before turning away, "I don't know what you're referring to…"

"No need to deny it, Blake," I teased.

Her blush grew until we heard the old door open, revealing Ankh.

"Morning Ankh." I greeted.

He only nodded before he reached inside his bag and grabbed a cold box that held his ice treats on which began to eat one. He looked like he didn't get much sleep but he also seemed… conflicted?

"Is something bothering you Ankh?" I asked the Bird Greeed.

"Nothing is wrong… I'm just thinking over…" He then looked at me. "No more questions, got it?" He then turned away to eat his treat.

We looked at him for a moment and thought it was best to leave him be as we grabbed our own food to eat. "So, where are heading into now, Ankh? Some… central chamber or something?" I asked him,

"Central chamber? Like a throne room or something?" Blake asked.

After taking a bite of his treat he looked at us before looking away. "We are gonna head to the Former Multi-King's castle…" He answered. "His place contains scripts, scrolls, old journals that will provide the answer."

"Wouldn't they have destroyed them?" I questioned.

"They didn't since he was very greedy after all. He hid them away but I know where." He responded. "We will leave in 10 minutes."

"Say, is it me… But is Ankh looking… a little more happy than before?" Blake whispered.

Hearing Blake's comment, I looked at the said Greeed and notice a small yet noticeable smile on his face. He was showing a smile that we can finally notice. "You're right, he does seem a little happier." I agreed. "What made him think over to be like that? Plus we are actually seeing him have a noticeable smile."

"Maybe…. Just being here made him at least a bit happier?" She pondered.

"Possibly," I nodded.

"Are you two coming or what?!" Ankh shouted out to us, the Bird Greeed already outside.

We grabbed our bags before the both of us followed the Bird Greeed.

* * *

We continued to follow Ankh as Blake and I was looking at the surroundings. It was very eerie knowing that we are the only ones here in the lost Kingdom.

That was then the howls of beowolves were heard in the distance.

I stand corrected, the only ones here is the three of us _and_ the Grimm that are around the forgotten kingdoms. We remained on guard as we walked through the pathway.

"Oi, we're here!" Ankh called out.

We looked at him as what we saw was an almost, nearly preserved castle. This was the Multi-King's home and it was huge, almost taller than Beacon! This was a surprise, not much of it was destroyed.

"This is…" Blake said.

"The Multi-King's castle from 800 years ago," Ankh confirmed. "The front part isn't destroyed luckily…"

"How is it so well preserved? I thought this whole place was in ruins…." I asked, looking at Ankh.

"It's because the alchemists built this place, to show the world who is the ruler." He explained. "Too bad he never succeeded."

The Bird Greeed pushed open the door, only for it to fall flat on the ground. "Well most of it still intact…" he muttered. Seeing the place, we were surprised to how well-preserved it was. It was like a part of history still standing for others to see. "So this is where the Multi-King lived…" I observed, seeing our surroundings. "It's a huge place."

"This is just the entrance. It gets bigger…." Ankh pointed out.

And right he was for the moment we entered the hall, the place was huge! It was like this entire castle was meant to have a lot of room for one person. The again he was a king so he probably preferred it that way. As we go deeper in the castle, we soon came across two large doors.

Ankh took a deep breath before pushing the doors open, revealing a large throne room as there was colored glass behind the throne. However, there was also a large hole in one side of the wall. "This is the throne room… Before he was sealed away due to his greed for godhood."

"How…. was it opened?" Blake asked the important question of that was being shown right here.

"This is where us Greeed and the Multi-King fought… before he betrayed me in the end. He became a tomb, trapping us Greeed in there for 800 years… As those years past, my arm was the only thing out of the seal. After 800 years, I finally had some strength and grabbed a rock, twisting open the tomb to release the Greeed. The seal…" He pointed at me. "The O-Driver was the seal. In other words, you are linked to it to the very end."

"Then…. That means I must seal them away?" I asked.

"That is if you want to seal yourself as well," he huffed. I shook my head frantically, giving him my answer. "Then you have to defeat the other Greeed with that Invincible Combo. Due to its antithesis, it is the only way to finish them off for good."

"What else?" Blake asked.

Ankh simply approached the throne before twisting the armrest. Once it twisted, the throne shook before it lowered, revealing a large set of stairs that lead into darkness. "If we are to find the answers to killing Gara, it is in there."

"You can't be serious," Blake stated.

"Do I look serious, kitty cat?" He glared.

I got in between the two, not wanting a fight. "Ankh, we get it. And Blake, please don't fight. We have been through enough for the past three months… I don't want a fight between those I care about."

"Che, whatever.." He scoffed before walking away from her, going down the steps.

I looked at Blake who seemed to be trembling slightly as she looks at the dark stairs. I gently placed my hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump slightly. Seeing this got me concerned. "Blake… are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, Enrique…" She said as I noticed her left Faunus cat ear, twitches. Making me frown at the sign.

"Blake… what did we promise after that day, 3 months ago?" I frowned.

She flinched as she knew what I was referring to. "N-Not… to keep lies or secrets from... each other... " She responded.

I nodded as I stood in front of her so she won't stare at the stairs. "Blake, please tell me what's wrong." I pleaded. "Don't you remember my promise to you? I'll stay by your side no matter what happens. He won't take you back, I will protect you to the very end."

"I'm.. scared…" She admitted, "What… what if Adam does find us? What if he got stronger and was able to take you out? What if he killed Yang and everyone else?!" She kept going, on and on. Her fears showed and she was terrified as she rambled on until I stopped her by embracing her.

"Blake, it's going to be okay…" I gently stroke her hair. "I know you are scared after that day… I am too…" she frantically shook her head. "Blake, look at me."

She was hesitant at first before she slowly raised her head, looking into my eyes. "Do you see _him_ around?" I asked. She slowly shook her head. "Who do you see?"

"You…" she replied.

"Yes, and not Adam," I pressed on. "As long as you know that I am here, you don't have to be afraid. I will reach out to you to help you face that fear."

"Enrique…" Blake got out softly before she pressed her head against my chest before sighing with relief. "Thank you.. I… I needed that…"

I kissed her forehead, "I'm here for you, okay?" She nodded softly. "Let's head down to meet up with Ankh."

* * *

We made it down the steps as I stood close to Blake to give her comfort and the feeling of safety. The moment we made it to the last few steps, we were greeted with a large selection of many old scrolls, books, even artifacts! It was like a museum!

"Woah…" I uttered in awe.

"Cover your mouth. I don't want your drool on these scrolls." Ankh glared at me.

I shut my mouth as Blake and I saw Ankh still looking around.

"There is so many old scrolls…" Blake gently brushed her hand against the documents. "The history of the kingdom right here…"

"We are _only_ here to find documents involving Gara," The Bird Greeed reminded. "Not to look into the history of this cursed kingdom."

Blake rolled her eyes before we continue to search for any related documents to the mad alchemist. It was surreal since we were in a room that shows records of a long forgotten kingdom. It was both an amazement but also creepy since the Lost Kingdom was known to fall due to the greed for more.

As I look around more, I saw Ankh reading some documents that look to not relate to Gara.

"What's that Ankh?" I asked.

Ankh folded the scroll, "Nothing important."

I crossed my arms with a frown until Blake called out. "You guys! Over here!"

Hearing her voice, we both walked to where she was, seeing her. "Found something?" Ankh asked.

"If you can call it that…" she pointed at an empty shelf with nothing there.

The look on Ankh's face showed anger as his eye twitches. "That shelf held the information of all the known alchemists!" He shouted, shoving the shelf to the ground. "Damn it!"

"Hold on. That's not all." Blake said as she moved over to the shelf near by and reached her hand into a small opening near it. After a bit of fidgeting around, a click was audibly heard as the shelf near by shifted before moving to the side, to reveal another room.

"Way to go, Blake!" I praised, causing her to blush.

"I-It's nothing really…" she replied.

Ankh shoved us aside as he began to look around the room and noticed some documents. "What the hell?" He cursed.

"What is it now?"

He gestured us to approach and we noticed that there was a candle along with a few open journals. "Someone was here."

"How? This place hasn't been occupied for 800 years," I pointed out.

"Gara doesn't even know about this secret room of the throne either…" Ankh frowned as his Greeed arm formed, touching the candle. "It was recent too…"

We heard the sound of books being dropped along with a gasp, causing us to quickly look back to see a cloaked figure, wearing a similar cloak-like robe to Gara's but an ice blue color. The figure quickly ran for it the moment they noticed us.

"Hey!" Ankh ran after the cloaked figure. "You get back here!"

"Let's go after him," I said to my girlfriend.

We soon rushed after the cloaked person, oddly enough he seemed to know where to go and what to do, as every corner we make, a trap goes off. It was like he knew everything about this place.

"This person is smart," Blake gritted.

"Too smart!" Ankh growled. "No one in this era knows about this kingdom!"

The figure shoved a statue aside and escaped from out sights. The cloaked figure was gone.

"Just who was that?" I asked.

"Your guess is good as mine," Ankh growled, "Whoever that was known about the secret room, the documents, everything."

"But who?"

"We will find out when we find that vermin."

I sighed, even I was wondering who were we're dealing with. Gara doesn't even know about that secret room and his cloaked robe isn't that type of color either. It left too many questions in my head.

Ankh went back to the throne room, untwisting the armrest to hide the secret room. "We are gonna find that person." He said.

"Why?" I crossed my arms.

"That person reeked of cell medals." He informed, much to our shock.

"You're… you're joking, right?" I asked.

"I am not 'joking', whoever that is, reeks of cell medals. That person is a homunculus."

"Do… you think it's Gara?" Blake questioned.

"No…" he huffed. "That robe that person has doesn't match Gara's nor belong to him…"

"Then who?"

"I don't know alright!? That's why we are going after that homunculus and get answers!"

I was about to argue but Blake's bow twitches for a moment. "Blake?"

"I hear… turbines…"

"What? Where?" I blinked.

Her bow twitches softly again before rushing outside of the castle before we followed her. Once outside, we noticed something from a distance. I squinted my eyes before they widened. "Those are Bullheads! Why are they here? Kougami wouldn't send anyone and we have the only bullhead here in this place." I recalled.

"That's because those aren't from the Kougami Foundation…" Ankh growled. "Look closer."

The both of us glanced at the Bullheads, as we soon saw the symbol that made Blake's skin crawl. "T-The White Fang…" She got out, "They.. they found us… Adam found me!" She said, backing up and beginning to vent from the possibility of Adam being here.

"Blake! Calm down!" I quickly grab her shoulders.

"But they're here! He's here! I know it!" She said as tears began to run down her face.

"Blake calm down!" I said. "Calm down and take deep breaths. We don't know that he is here."

"You don't know that! But I do! He's here… He's here…" She repeated as she began to shake in fear.

I quickly drag Blake as all three of us took cover behind some of the rubble. I peeked over, seeing the White Fang soldiers.

"Find that armored OOO and the traitor so we can head back to Vale that way Adam will get his revenge!" The White Fang lieutenant ordered the grunts.

"Roger sir!" They all shouted before racing off to find them.

"Che… lousy puppets…" Ankh spat out, "Now we lost whoever that was…" He then turned to Blake and glared, "And it's thanks to her…. We should just leave her."

"What!? NO!" I defended. "Blake has _nothing_ to do with this, Ankh!"

"If she continues to panic like this, she'll be nothing more than a burden for us," Ankh stated.

"I'm not leaving her behind!" I argued. "We are sticking together!"

"She is the reason why the damn White Fang is here!" He pointed at her. "They were not aware of this place but now they do! You know why? Because she is here!"

"She is my girlfriend! This isn't her fault so we are sticking together!" I growled. "Whether you like it or not, she's staying with us!"

Ankh growled before he scoffed and turned away, "Whatever… She's your responsibility...Not mine."

I wanted to punch the bird Greeed but I had to calm myself down knowing that Blake is scared upon seeing the White Fang. My thoughts were cut off by the whirring sound. "What's that sound? It almost sounds like a chain…" a part of the chainsaw pierced through the rubble, causing me to jump back. "Saw…"

I quickly unsheathed the Upgraded Medajalibur as we quickly moved away, now seeing the White Fang Lieutenant.

"Found you!" The Lieutenant grinned widely as he then began to swipe at me, targeting me first of all things.

"Blake! Ankh! Go!" I shouted, blocking the attack.

"But-"

"Go! I'll catch up!" I countered the saw with the Medajalibur, my arm coating in ice before punching the lieutenant across the face.

"Come on… Get up." Ankh said, gripping Blake's arm as he helped her up. "He has this…"

I witness the two running before I quickly ducked, avoiding the attack that would have cut my head off. Standing back up, I struck his chest, sending him stumbling away as his Aura decreased.

"Adam said to bring you alive… But he never said in one piece…" The Lieutenant grinned, "You humans are nothing more than filth."

I growled upon those words before I quickly placed the O-Driver on my waist. Placing in the three Cores, I scanned them. "Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA! TATOBA! TA-TO-BA!**

The crests aligned before donning me in the OOO armor. I got into my stance, the Medajalibur back in its sheath and the Tora Claws unfolded. "Bring it on!" I exclaimed before letting out a battle cry, charging at the lieutenant.

"I'm going to enjoy skinning you!" He cackled before he charged in as well, clashing his saw against my claws before I oddly felt weak upon contact before being flung through the wall.

' _What… was that…?'_ I got out in my thoughts.

I shook my head and focused on the Taka Lenses, allowing me to predict his movement as we clashed once more.

* * *

Ankh was dragging Blake as they ran, the faint sounds of metal clashing with one another still continuing. "I can't believe I am dragging you to safety…" he grumbled in irritation. "We didn't have to deal with the White Fang for 3 months and now we are back to fighting them! This is just great! All because of you!"

"I'm... sorry..." She said softly, looking away from the Greeed, "I should've just stayed away from Beacon…"

"No kidding," he huffed. "Of everything, it had to involve that stupid group that the person you are so afraid of leads."

Blake pulled her arm away, "I had no choice! He has done enough harm to everyone! He killed innocent people! I had to leave the White Fang because they lost what it truly meant for equality!"

"There they are!" The two looked to the left, seeing some of the White Fang soldiers.

"And there's the traitor Adam that wants back to base!"

"Why can't you leave me? I just wanted to stop hurting people!" she shouted to them.

"It's because Adam sees your true potential... As the Faunus who rid the world of humans!" One of them responded, "You're nothing more than our puppet!"

Ankh frowned greatly, "A puppet… A DAMN PUPPET!? You damn Faunus of the stupid group are nothing more than stupid people who wish to harm even your own species! A puppet is a being with nothing to have control!" he unsheathed his shorts swords as his Greeed arm appeared, the silhouette of his right wing appearing as his eyes were burning with hate and disgust. "I'll show you what a mere 'puppet' can do to you all!" He looked at Blake. "Just go while I take care of these weaklings."

Blake frantically nodded and ran while Ankh rushes towards the White Fang. They fired at him but he was dodging them with ease. When he got close, he grabbed one by the throat before tossing the grunt aside and unleashed a haymaker at another.

"This guy is a monster!" A White Fang soldier grunted out. A few more of them gathered as they opened fired upon the Greeed, trying to take him out.

Ankh leaped onto the edge of a roof before he jumped down and slashed the one behind him. Once knocked out and one remaining, he stopped a blade with his Greeed arm before he spun around, grabbing the grunt by the throat, lifting him up.

"A monster you say? I am a Greeed! It is what I am considered, we were made more superior than your kind!" He squeezed more, slowly making the grunt lose air as a malicious grin crept Ankh's lips.

The White Fang soldier grunted and gasped for air, trying to claw his way out, "M-Mer...cy…."

"You plead for mercy? Weak," he tossed the grunt to the wall, knocking him out. He grinned upon the victory until a faint sound was heard, a slight pinch of pain to his neck.

He winced before he grabbed what hit his neck, only to see it was a needle. "Che, is that what you… got…" he suddenly felt woozy as he turned around to see a couple more grunts along with the Lieutenant who looked to got a beating. He growled lowly and charged up another fireball but with whatever they shot him with, it was making him lose focus.

"What… the hell…" he muttered tiredly before he felt back, knocked out but alive.

"Take him back. I'm sure Kazari would want him alive." The Lieutenant ordered. "Search for the other two so we can leave."

They nodded as two grunts tied up Ankh and began to drag him back to their temporary camp.

Blake watched as she was horrified to see Ankh taken away. And that lieutenant was there with that squad.

Blake kept calm as possible, keeping herself hidden from some of the White Fang soldiers. She was afraid of being taken back to _him_. After all that happened 3 months ago, she was scared.

Now separated from the other two, she had to do something. Before she could blink a hand shot out and dragged her. She didn't panic because she recognized the scent. It was of normal yet soothing scent she had smelled whenever she was with him. Even the feeling of safety blanketing her. The voice was merely the reassurance who it actually was.

"Blake…" I said to her softly.

"Enrique… you're okay…"

I nodded as I placed my finger close to my lips, motioning silence as I peeked from the narrow spot, seeing some of the White Fang soldiers. "I really didn't expect them to follow us…"

"I-I know… but why here?"

I grimaced, realizing why. Guess that bastard really does have grudge against me. A very big grudge.

"Remember my fight against… you know who?" She nodded. "Well, I used the Invincible Combo to beat him… I even cut off his right arm, the very arm he uses to fight with that sword of his."

"So that's why... " She muttered before turning to me and as I saw her scared look, "But… this is all my fault… If I didn't leave Adam, then you all would be safe! And Ankh wouldn't have gotten captured…."

"Blake, this _isn't_ your fault," I reminded. "You made the choice to leave that group but it doesn't mean it is your fault."

"But it is! Adam is doing this because I left him! It is my fault, Enrique!" She sounded off as she hugged her legs and began to weep. She was terrified and hurt about what happened. And due to Adam's influence, she became his only target to make sure no one defies him.

I stared at Blake with pity before I knelt down, gently placing my hands on her shoulders, with a gentle yet firm grip. She slowly raised her head, her eyes filled with tears that ran down, filled with fear and guilt. The same feeling I went through.

I gently cupped her cheek and rubbed away her tears with my thumb. Before she knew it, I brought her close to me and began to hum a tune I remembered… an old tune that my dad once did for me and Marie.

As she cried, her trembling slowly began to stop as I hummed. She then clung onto me, as her trembling can only be felt upon her contact with me.

"Why… Why do you continue to defend me?" She muttered.

I stopped humming the tune before I look at her. "Because… I understand how much you went through…" I answered. "I know what it is like trying to survive, a chance to redeem for what you have done in the past… and because I care about you. You mean everything to me. I see you as for who you are, Blake Belladonna."

"Enrique…" she looked at me and smiled softly.

I wiped away the remaining tears, returning a smile of my own. "Let's go rescue Ankh." I declared, gently handing her Gambol Shroud.

"Or.. you and the traitor can join the monster?" The Lieutenant said to us both.

We quickly looked back to see him and the grunts, weapons aimed at us. I quickly reached for the Upgraded Medajalibur but the grunts aimed at me, willing to shoot me.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," the lieutenant warned me.

Gritting my teeth, I released my grip on my blade and lowered my arms.

"It's best you give up boy. Otherwise, we'll have to take care of that monster, and your friends when we find them." The Lieutenant grinned.

The grunts slowly approached us both until we heard rumbling. We held onto any supports before the rumbling stopped.

The grunts looked around, confused to the sudden predicament until a large claw, that of an ice color grabbed a grunt, swinging him away.

"What the hell!?"

Another glowing claw grabbed another grunt and sent her to her comrades.

The others aimed at all directions as a large golem like creature in the color of ice rose out of the ground, leaving all of us shocked.

"SHOOT THEM!" The Lieutenant shouted out, pointing to the golems.

They fired but the golems slammed them away, leaving me and Blake shocked to this event.

"Enrique, was that you?" She asked, knowing I have my cyrokinesis Semblance.

"N-No, it's not," I answered, astonished. "My ice Semblance only gives me combat and defensive skills, not conjuring a living golem."

"T-That... Would be due to me…" A faint voice called out behind us.

We turned around to see the cloaked figure from before. "Quickly, this way!" We both now heard the cloaked figure, showing to be a female.

"Who are you?"

"Please, I'll explain later young Multi-King."

Hearing this made Blake narrow her eyes at the cloaked figure. "How can you know about the mul-" One of the golems shattered, showing only two remain.

"Please! I will explain everything, we have to go!" The cloaked figure advised.

"Guess… we should follow her…" Blake said to me.

I nodded before we followed the cloaked figure, as the golems soon went back into the ground as we escape.

* * *

After a while of running, Blake and I came to a stop as the cloaked figure was tracing her fingers across a wall. "Look… just who are you?" I asked. "How do you know about the Multi-King."

The cloaked person stopped and pressed the brick, causing the wall to open up. The person entered as we followed but Blake and I were getting impatient, not receiving an answer.

"Will you just tell us who are you!?" Blake demanded, reaching for her Gambol Shroud.

"Please… I mean no harm…" the cloaked figure pleaded. The person reached for the hood that obscured her identity before lowering it, revealing a beautiful woman with flawless fair skin, dark blue eyes, and her hair was like the color of ice.

My jaw dropped slightly upon seeing the woman but Blake pinched my arm, causing me to stop.

"My name… is Glacia Breeze… I was one of the alchemists who helped make the O-Driver and the Core Medals…" she introduced.

"Eh!?"

"A-And you are one of the four Alchemist!?" I added.

She nodded, "After 800 years, the power of the Multi-King has been found." She glanced at the buckle. "At least it wasn't someone like that mad king…" she muttered lowly, shaking slightly.

"Hey, you okay?" I noticed.

"It's nothing I wish to speak about…" she muttered. She then looked up and rushed before grasping my hands. "But at last… the Multi-King has been given new life! I'm so grateful that someone so pure is the new OOO!"

"I-I don't know what to say," I stuttered slightly. Though I turned to see Blake glare as I can hear her soft growls coming from her as the woman was very close to me. "Um… c-can you take a few steps back, Glacia?"

"Oh! Of course Lord OOO." She nodded before letting go and backing up.

Wait, lord?

"What do you mean by 'Lord OOO'?" I asked. "I'm not a king, I'm just me."

"You hold the power of the Multi-King, those who bare the seal are labeled as the Multi-King," she explained.

"Look, I'm not a king and can you at least explain to us why are you here? And why you ran from us?"

Glacia stood quiet, "Because… I thought you were thieves from the outside." She explained. "I… I had to run."

"What about the documents involving the alchemist?" Blake asked. "We need them to stop Gara."

The mention of the name caused Glacia to reel back, her eyes filled with horror as if something happened. "H-he's still alive…?!" She choked.

"H-Hey, calm down," I tried to calm her but she was shaking upon the name as she flinched upon my touch. I noticed some despair and pain in her eyes… almost as if… oh my god…

I slowly walked to Blake, "Blake, I think we should talk to her calmly, just don't mention that _alchemist_." This confused her at first until her eyes widened, causing me to nod.

"Alright then…" She acknowledged.

We looked at Glacia as Blake and I sat down. "Glacia, please tell us what you know… we understand why you are like this…" Blake pleaded softly. "Enrique beat him once before."

Glacia's eyes widen as she then looked at me, "You… bested Gara? H-How?"

I focused on the other half of my Semblance, my Aura bringing forth the three Purple Cores. "This." I presented.

"I-Impossible… Those Cores…" She got out, "They are meant to be the bomb that will let him destroy this world." she turned to me, "How… were you able to control them? He put dark magic on them so that no one could break his control!"

"But I did," I assured, the Cores returning to my Aura. "It was thanks to… my friends and family…"

"Then… there is hope…" She smiled brightly, "There is hope for you to defeat Gara and obtain the ultimate power of OOO!"

"Huh?"

The female alchemist slowly got up, reaching for a book. "When the Multi-King mastered all of the five combos of the Greeed… he ordered us to create the _ultimate_ power…" she explained. "One that would have permanently change the fate of the other kingdoms to his rule." She pulled the book out, blowing away the dust before placing it on the desk. "The power that would have transcend time and space… Super TaToBa…" she revealed the said image of three Core Medals.

"Super… TaToBa…" I repeated.

Glacia nodded, "Though… it's incomplete… So I don't know if it'll be used to you…" She frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"It has been lost for a long time…" she sighed. "The Cores, while made, weren't fully complete due to the first Multi-King's wrath…. Thus, I do not know if it'll help you, my lord…"

"So we are back to square one…" I sighed.

"Forgive me for being useless my lord… I'll punish myself soon.." She lowered her head as she reached into her pocket and brought out what looked to be some kind of poison.

I quickly waved my hands. "You don't have to do that!"

"But, my lord! I have dishonored you!"

"Look, I am not like the Multi-King," I explained.

"But you are still my lord.. And as my lord, I will take my punishment." She said, about to ingest it until I took the vial out of her hand.

"I don't let friends hurt themselves!"

"F-Friend? What is… 'friend'?" She asked, obvious not knowing the term or language of today.

Blake and I blinked, looking at each other then at her. "You don't know?" Blake asked incredulously.

She shook her head, "I… was told by Gara and the first Multi-King.. That me and the others… are nothing more than monsters and servants.." She said as she took off the rest of her cloak, revealing some old scars across her delicate skin.

"Like _him_ , some of us were to become homunculus by the order of the King…" she explained. "He wanted to make sure we never die so we can continue our work to make more power for him…" she began to tremble. "But… I on the other hand… eventually was forced to.. to…" she fell to her knees, choking upon that word she didn't want to say, covering her eyes and cried.

I knelt down, feeling truly sorry for her. "I'm… I'm sorry…" I said. "Friends are those who help you, not like those bastards… friends are those who help you every step of the way, willing to cheer you up, talk to you, even have good memories." I smiled softly. "You saved Blake and I, that shows you are our friend."

"Lord OOO…" she got out softly before smiling at us softly. "Thank you.."

I nodded before I stood up, looking at the Candroid to check the time. "Damn it… it's already night time…" I grimaced. "We have to get Ankh…"

"The Bird Greeed!?" Glacia gasped. "I thought I recognized that arm…"

"We can get him now, Enrique… you remember the history lesson that Port once mentioned…?"

I grimaced once more, realizing she has a point. If we fight them in the night, they had the advantage along with Blake but I would be fighting blindly. "By morning, we have to get Ankh…"

Blake nodded, "But where can we sleep?"

"Ah! Come with me, Lord OOO and Queen Blake. I know of a place where you two can rest." She smiled.

Blake blinked, "Why did you call me that…?"

"Well, it is obvious you are mated with Lord OOO here. So, it makes sense you are his Queen." She explained.

Blake and I looked at each other before blushing.

"Though, I am confused as to why you two don't have heir's yet?" She pondered.

Hearing that felt like a hit to my gut as I coughed while Blake blushed heavily. "I-It's not like that!" We said to her. "I-I'm only 19, soon to be 20. W-While Blake is about to be 18!"

"W-We're too young for something like that!" Blake nodded.

"Too young?" She tilted her head, "You're both ripe for having heir's my liege. Please, follow me, I'll show you to your room, and fix something up for you to start the process." She smiled innocently.

"No!" We said to her, the redness on our faces increasing ten fold. "L-Look, Glacia, times and l-laws have changed then you didn't even know about," I explained, trying to stop my heart from racing further.

"But in this place, there are no laws. Isn't that why many have forbidden people to come here?" She pointed out.

I facepalmed. This was going to take a long while to explain everything to her.

* * *

 _Meanwhile, in the temporary camp, Ankh was wide awake but he couldn't do much. Why? While he can burn away the ropes, he won't have an easy chance due to the four grunts around the tent, remaining on guard._

" _Che… you guys_ really _are scared," The Bird Greeed huffed. "Since I am here and showed what I can do to you lot."_

" _S-Shut it, monster!" One of the grunts responded before hitting him with the blunt part of their gun._

 _Ankh huffed, ignoring the pain. "Is that all you can do?"_

" _I said shut it!" He shouted out, striking him again._

" _Enough!" The lieutenant ordered. The grunt stopped what he was doing before stepping away as the lieutenant approached Ankh._

" _Guess they had to call the big guy, huh? Weak…" Ankh mocked._

" _Save it while you can, monster. We found your friends and they will be dealt with and brought here. Then all that's left is to bring you to Kazari and Adam."_

" _Tch… the bruises on you guys show you lost… badly. I say my charge kicked your ass."_

" _It's only a matter of time.. Since we have you, they'll come here to try and save you. That filthy human and puppet of a traitor will fall." He spat out._

" _Tch…" Ankh scoffed. He watch the lieutenant leave the tent while the grunts stare at the Bird Greeed. "What a pain…" he sighed._

* * *

After a very long explanation to Glacia, she seemed to somewhat understand everything Blake and I told her, giving us _some_ relief. Seriously, why would an alchemist think of that about me and Blake!? I mean sure we are in a relationship but we haven't reached that step and we are too young for kids!

Right now, I was in the room that Glacia allowed us to sleep in. Pushing those thoughts aside, I was calm, thank goodness for that since I didn't want to think too much of what Glacia assumed.

Glacia though, was already fast asleep on a small bed she had in the corner. It must've been her own bed, as it was not only very small and torn up, but looked uncomfortable. Gara must've done his best to drill it into her thought of this being how she must always live, and it was disgusting.

Glancing at her, I couldn't forget how broken she was when we mentioned that bastard. It angered me… But she still kept her usual self present as if she managed to suppress those memories for 800 years. Not to mention, her ability of those golems. When they showed up, they appeared from some runes. Why was it so familiar?

Letting out a sigh, I got out of the bed before reaching into my bag, finding the sleeping bag. I walked over to Glacia. "Hey, Glacia…" I called out.

"Ngh...Lord OOO? What is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

I presented the sleeping bag. "Try and use this so you can sleep better." I insisted.

Her eyes widen but she shakes her head. "I'm sorry my Lord. But I can't accept this gift." She denied, "It belongs to you, I'm not worthy of such an item."

"Glacia, you don't deserve to sleep in this condition," I looked at her bed. "You have been through enough already and you deserve a chance for a better time." I handed the sleeping bag to her. "You need it more than I do, okay? Besides friends help each other after all, didn't Blake and I tell you?"

"But… I'm nothing more than some monster… something that shouldn't exist…" she looked at me, "Why would you care so much for me?"

I sat down on the edge of the bed, "Glacia, look, you aren't a monster. Despite you and the Alchemists becoming homunculus, you are still yourself." I pointed at where her heart would be. "You have a soul, just like me and Blake."

"Lord OOO…." She said softly before she quickly wrapped her arms around my neck, hugging me, "Thank you… my friend…"

I was caught by surprise at first before I smiled, "It's the least I can do. I reach my hand out to those in need of help." I stood up from the edge of her bed before walking over to the bed she lent me and Blake. Moving the blanket, I went under the covers as I felt Blake's arms.

"Sometimes, I wonder if you're too good for this world?" Blake said softly with a warm smile as she cuddled with me.

"You heard the conversation?" I asked.

She nods, "You're very sweet…" She pecks my cheek.

"I reach my hand out to help people," I smiled, stroking her hair. "It is what I promised to do."

She smiles softly before gaining a frown, "Do… you think Ankh is alright?"

"Knowing him, he will be okay…" I replied. "Let's get sleep, okay?"

"Okay.." She nods before cuddling closer to me.

* * *

Morning arrived, Blake and I were fully awake as we were wearing our normal attire, the Upgraded Medajalibur sheathed and ready. "Ready Blake?" I asked my girlfriend.

She nods, "Yeah.. Let's end this already." She agreed before taking out her weapon.

Seeing ourselves prepared, I looked at Glacia, the question still buzzing in my mind. "Say Glacia, before Blake and I go, there is something I wanted to know."

"Yes?"

I reached in my pocket before pulling out the Medal Book and showed her BuraKaWani. "Do you recognize these?"

Her eyes widened, "Those Cores…" she uttered, her fingers tracing across the images of the reptiles. "I know these Cores because I made them…"

"And your Semblance?" I pressed on, now realizing who this alchemist really is.

"Glyphs…"

"Wait, I thought only… Schnee's…" Blake's eyes widened. "How did you know?"

"The BuraKaWani Cores were made the alchemist that was the only person who had a good heart unlike the others. Plus, Ankh had the idea of stealing the Three Cores from the Schnee mansion. Even when Ankh told me about how Weiss' ancestor was the very alchemist who made the reptile Cores." I explained to Blake. "In origin, she is the first to use Glyphs… not as a Schnee."

"Amazing deduction, Lord OOO." Glacia got out.

"I learn," I chuckled. "Anyways, Glacia, you should stay here, alright?"

"As you command, Lord OOO." She bowed.

I rubbed the bridge of my nose, "And Glacia, you don't have to keep calling me that. I'm not a king as I said before. Just call me Enrique." I sighed.

"A-As you wish, Lord Enrique." She bowed once more.

I facepalmed. Again with the lord stuff, it was annoying if you ask me. Letting out a sigh, Blake and I walked out of the secret area that lead us out to the plains. The wall closed behind us before Blake and I rushed across the plains.

"So where did they take him?" Blake asked.

"I have an idea," I reached into my pocket before presenting the Taka Candroid. Opening the tab, the can transformed into the candroid, letting out a chirp. "Lead us to Ankh."

It nodded before flying around, it was circling a few times until it stopped and began to fly to the east. "Let's go." I said before we followed the candroid. It was a bit of a long run but we made it to another part of the ancient village and hid behind the rubble.

Peeking over as the sun was slowly rising, we saw a couple of tents with one having the most number of the White Fang grunts.

"Think, that's where he's at?" Blake turned to me.

"You remember how Ankh fights, and knowing that he can detach as an arm, they wouldn't want him to get away…" I responded. "We just have to get to that tent…"

"How?"

I pondered for a moment before an idea came up. "Hey Blake, what type of Dust rounds do you have?" I asked.

"A have a clip holding fire dust, and a couple clips of normal rounds, why?"

"Faunus can see better in darkness but what about steam?" I grinned, presenting Shachi, Gorilla, and Wani. "I can use my Semblance to freeze the water and you can shoot the ice."

Blake smirked, "I think that would work, perfectly." She agreed to my plan.

Placing the O-Driver on my waist, I placed in the three Core Medals into the buckle before I grabbed the O-Scanner and swipe it across the buckle. "Henshin!"

 **SHACHI!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **CHEETAH!**

With the crests aligned, the armor formed before I hopped over the rubble and unleashed a torrent of water to the area.

"Huh?" The grunts noticed until I used my Semblance to allow the water and the air around it to freeze into ice.

"Now!" I called out to Blake.

Blake soon pointed her gun at the Dust as she fired a round. In seconds, steam exploded from contact of the two Dust's as large amount of steam poured into the area.

"What the heck?"

"We're under fire! Stay close!"

The White Fang were either panicking or getting ready for a counter attack, spite them being unable to see anything through the steam.

Switching Shachi with Taka, I scanned the medals once again.

 **TAKA!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **CHEETAH!**

They used their hearing but thanks to Cheetah Legs, they fired at nothing. Using the gauntlets, I punched a grunt in the chest before going after another thanks to the Taka Helm, allowing me to see better.

When one of the grunts took notice of myself approaching, he aimed his gun at me but I ducked before delivering an uppercut, sending him in the air before I noticed the steam was slowly vanishing. I had to make this quick.

Using another ounce of energy, I rushed into the tent before I saw the other three guards. "Hello," I waved nonchalant before using the Cheetah Legs and punched them, knocking them out due to the gauntlets. Once taken care of, I looked at Ankh. "You alright?"

"Hmph… they had it coming…"

I rolled my eyes before he freed himself due to his Greeed arm casting flames. Once free, he rubbed his wrists and looked at me.

"What took you so long?" He asked.

"If you haven't noticed, these guys were in the way from rescuing you," I explained. "Oh and we met that person we were trying to chase yesterday."

"And?"

"Turns out, it was one of the Royal Alchemists by the name Glacia"

He raised an eyebrow before he huffed, "I thought there was something about that alchemist robe she was wearing."

"We can talk later, we have to get going." I insisted.

"You three aren't going anywhere…." The Lieutenant sounded off.

Oh great…

There stood the lieutenant from before, his mask hiding the anger in his eyes as his weapon was ready to cut us down.

"Any ideas, Ankh?" I asked.

"Yeah…" he motioned for Sai and Zou.

I nodded, "Blake, give me cover while I start the Gravity Combo."

"Okay," she nodded before she and Ankh rushed towards the lieutenant to provide me a window to scan the three gray Core Medals.

Grabbing Sai and Zou, I replaced Taka and Cheetah before scanning all three medals.

 **SAI!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **ZOU!**

 **SAGOZO… SAGOZO!**

Now donned in the Gravity Combl, I bested my chest before marching towards the White Fang lieutenant. Upon seeing me, Blake used her Semblance to avoid the lieutenant's attack as I punched the lieutenant in the chest, sending him flying across the area, his back hitting the wall.

The Lieutenant groaned as he got up, shaking off the blow like it was a pinch as he charged back in. He swung his blade, missing Blake but striking me as I was soon tossed into the ground. He then turned and gripped Blake before slamming her against the ground as he began to squeeze on her neck.

"You, are too much trouble, Traitor… I'm sure Adam would understand if an 'accident' should befall you…" He said with a cold glare.

Blake gasped for air, before she aimed at the lieutenant, and fired a few rounds as this caused him to release her. She coughed before avoiding another attack. While she avoided it, Ankh delivered a haymaker to the lieutenant, nearly breaking the mask with the amount of force he used.

The White Fang soldier roared out as he swung his sword down.

"Ankh!" Blake called out.

Ankh didn't say anything as his Greeed arm formed, the blades coming in contact as sparks were casting off and no cell medals. "What the…" the Lieutenant got out but Ankh stopped him as he punched his lower torso then an elbow to the face. The Bird Greeed slammed his knee into the White Fang soldier's face, sending him reeling back.

He wasn't even done as he punched the chest, fire igniting before sending the lieutenant flying.

"Woah…" I uttered. Man, Ankh really wasn't kidding when he said he was strong. I guess with three of his Core Medals, he gave him back fraction of his power.

"Oi! Stop gawking and end it!" Ankh ordered.

I was out of my stupor before giving a nod before I reeled my arms back before thrusting them, the gauntlets shooting out and right at the lieutenant.

He groaned before he took notice. "Oh no…" before he knew it, the gauntlets came in contact, hitting him dead on as he was slammed through the wall.

"Hmph, amatuer." Ankh spat out.

"We should get going before the rest chase after us." Blake noted.

"Right," I nodded before we quickly made a run back to the secret room that Glacia was in.

* * *

Upon returning, I knocked on the wall while Ankh raised an eyebrow. However his expression changed when the wall opened up to reveal Glacia, causing Ankh's eyes to shot up like rockets before it went calm.

"Welcome back you tw-" She noticed Ankh and his Greeed arm. "You…"

Ankh huffed, turning his head away. "Yeah, me." He said with slight venom. "Surprised you lived like that damn bastard. It explains why you reek of Cell Medals."

"Ankh, be nice. She's been through too much already," I scolded, only for him to glare at me. "Sorry about how he is." I apologized to Glacia.

"I understand… I knew what happened during that day where the Multi-King fell and the kingdom into nothing…" she looked at Ankh. "Ankh, I understand how much you-"

" _Don't_ you dare speak of that time," He warned. "It was because of the other Greeed and that damn king, the ones who causes nothing but hell to the kingdom! You and the alchemists chose to do nothing to stop the king! You all vanished when he ended up killing himself the moment he scanned all the medals, sealing us Greeed!" He pointed at her. "I rather not forget that time! You know why?! Humans and the damn Faunus got too greedy and caused the kingdom to fall! And for once, this kingdom is what it supposed to be, nothing but ruins!"

"I… I apologize, Ankh…" Glacia lowered her head.

"Sorry!?" He grabbed her by the throat, causing me and Blake to try and make him let go of her. "You don't know that half of being sorry! Unlike me, you had 800 years to look back at what you have done! You have done enough already!"

"Ankh, let her go!" Blake demanded.

The Bird Greeed shoved her away as he then tossed Glacia to the wall, bringing out his sword as his Greeed arm was ignited in flames. He roared out in anger and was about to bring down his sword until I used Upgraded Medajalibur to stop it, the blades locked as sparks cased off.

"Ankh, that's enough! Get a hold of yourself for damn sake!" I shouted. "Just look at yourself! Is this what she wanted you to do!?"

"Like you know how much I lost you stupid idiot!"

"I do know! I know you lost a friend you cared about! I know what it is like to lose those close to you!" I argued. "We both lost people in our lives Ankh! I know you don't show it but inside your soul, there is pain that you only use anger just to lash it out to the world!"

"How would you know!?"

"I WOULD HAVE ENDED UP BEING LIKE YOU!" I yelled, causing him to become silent but his eyes were filled with shock. "After losing my family… so much has happened to me… I was upset… in grief… I wanted to lash out for how much I lost… but I couldn't…" I looked at him, feeling tears running down my face. "I made a promise to my family that I would never do that and reach my hand out to help. To save them from losing what they have left… Ankh, you have to stop this and look into yourself… she wouldn't want you to continue to inflict harm to yourself..."

"Lord OOO…." Glacia got out.

"Ankh… I know you're angry. But it's obvious that the other Alchemists were forced to do this due to the king and _him_. You shouldn't blame them for everything, especially since they're cursed as well…" Blake told him.

Ankh was silent before the flames slowly died down and he slowly lowered his arm, the sword going back into its sheath. He didn't say a word, only for him to shove me aside and sat on the floor, avoiding eye contact.

I on the other hand, I wiped away the tears upon the memories of the deaths of two of our friends and my family.

"Ankh.. I.. know you hate me and the others for what we've done…" Glacia admitted, "But believe me… * she then looked up at him, "I never saw you as monsters.. I… would argue that I saw you… as one of my own children…" Ankh didn't reply, only to look away.

Looking at the time, it was already noon but honestly it felt like so much happened within the first couple of hours. Leaning against the wall, I could only remember the days of what we lost on that day…

"Are you okay?" Blake asked with concern.

"I… I'll be okay…" I sighed. "It's been awhile since I brought up old memories…"

"Lord O- I mean… Lord Enrique… I… wanted to thank you.. It has been a long time, since I've been with actual company… As well as coming here to find a way to defeat, _him_." Glacia bowed to us.

I raised my head to look at her, "No problem, Glacia."

"But… I'd… like to make a request…"

"Hm?" I blinked. "What request?"

She soon raised her head and gave a soft smile, "Please…. Destroy me…"

Blake and I looked at her, shocked upon the request. "What...? Glacia… I… I can't do that." I denied. "It's… it's not right…"

"Enrique…" She sighed softly, "I'm basically nothing but an immortal monster…. I can't have children, and my Core can't be destroyed unless it's by those Purple Medals." She looked at me, "I have seen so many lives go by…. I have seen this world changing towards many things…. And I'm tired of it… I never wanted to be around this long. To see so many I love and cared for, vanish from my eyes… I want to rest in peace right now…"

"I can't lose another friend, Glacia!" I argued. Hearing her words was hitting me, I just couldn't end her life. I lost my family and two of my friends, I didn't want to end a person's life, someone who we became friends with for such a small time… "I… I can't…"

"Enrique…" Glacia smiled, placed her hands on me, causing me to see her odd, yet brightful smile, "I'm ready to die… and I want you to help me go in peace…"

My eyes welled up with tears, the painful feeling increasing. I shut my eyes as I slowly focus on the Cores that were brought out from my Aura. Placing them in the O-Driver, I struggled to grab the scanner.

"You can do this, Enrique…. I know you're scared and hurting cause of what you lost… But as one friend to another, I know you can do this." She smiled softly at me, "It was never your fault… And I'm sure your parents are proud of what you're doing right now. I know… I know that I am."

The pang of guilt was building up as I scanned the Cores.

 **PTERA!**

 **TRICERA!**

 **TYRANNO!**

 **PU-TO-TYRA NO ZAURU~!**

Once in the Invincible Combo, I slammed my arm into the ground, pulling out the Medagaburyu. I clenched my hands as I felt more and more pain in my heart. I watched her close her eyes as if she was prepared. My hands were trembling, close to releasing my weapon to the ground. I just couldn't…

"Please… I don't want to do this…" I choked in tears.

"I know you don't… You're scared, and wanting to find another way… But let's face it… I can never truly be more dead, than I was eons ago…" Glacia said to me, "I'm just a faint memory of the past, that should've be gone, long ago."

I slowly raise the axe as she smiled softly. "And do me one other last favor… please defeat Gara…"

I was trembling even more before I said, "O… Kay…" I barely said. I shut my eyes closed and quickly brought down my weapon.

Glacia continued to smile as her body grew grey as she soon, and slowly begin to disintegrate in front of us. All of the pain she has cause, and all of the suffering she has endured were finally being lifted from her shoulders.

"Thank… you…" Those were her last words as the Core broke and the Cell Medals lying on the ground.

I dropped my weapon, falling to my knees and cried. It was just too much for me… I had to end a life of an innocent person… a friend we barely got a chance to know more about…

"Enrique…" Blake kneeled down as she hugged me, comforting me as much as she could. I couldn't say anything for what I had to do.

"Why… Why did I have to do this…" I cried.

"It's because she saw you as her way to give her peace…" Ankh said to me, "As well as try to help you get stronger and overcome your past… she may have been one of the alchemists.. But out of all of them, she was one of the few who realized the mistakes that happened in the past…." He glanced at me. "What's next?"

I was quiet for a moment before I slowly clench my hands. "We have to find those Cores Glacia mentioned…"

"If we find them… what do you plan to do?"

I clenched my hands into fists, remembering what Gara has done and knowing what we have to do. "We are gonna stop Gara once and for all." I declared.

* * *

 _Deep within a secret lab within the outskirts of the ruined parts of Vale, Gara was writing down in his journal with a crazy grin on his face. On the table was large sets meant to create pieces of metal along with blueprints. "More… more…" He said, his eyes showing lust for more power. His Poseidon project was successful! The now called Poseidon Driver worked but he couldn't beat that cursed OOO due to the battalion that patrolled that city. But now, he and the Faunus along with the Bird Greeed were at the lost kingdom, the place where he came from, the place that will give them answers to defeat him._

 _He didn't want that to happen. He has to achieve the godhood the Multi-King never reached! Looking at a flask, he grabbed a vial from his waist and looked at it. "Now young Amazon… your power will help me." He poured the ashes into the flask as it began to glow, the newly-fused fluid going through tubes, countless as the fluids were going through different tubes until three tubes went into three flasks in which Gara grabbed three Cell Medals from his body before crushing them into dust and poured them inside the three flasks._

 _They reacted more before he grabbed them and placed them on a heater. The beauty of alchemy was… amazing to see. His career as one never failed to amaze him. The flasks was boiling until a dark color was formed. He poured the contents into a template as the fluid began to solidify. It was a sunset red color to it, while the gold ring surrounded it. Finally, marks began to appear as it formed what looked like a familiar spear overlaying a shield. It glowed softly as a pink hue formed in the center, "W-Where am I?" A familiar voice rang from the Medal._

 _Gara grinned insanely from this. "Pyrrha Nikos. The 'Invincible Girl' of Mistral. Also called the Amazon. Fell before the woman who has stolen the last half of the Fall Maiden's power." He listed before laughing. "Truly amazing! I have created a living Core!"_

" _G-Gara?! What did you do to me?!" The Core asked._

" _I have brought your soul from your ashes and given you life… into a simple Core Medal." He grinned, grabbing hold of it, examining the symbol on it. "Truly fits for who you were before your demise… And your Polarity will be mine to use."_

" _You can't do this! You really are an insane monster!"_

" _Oh you wound me, Nikos." he said. "I am a man who wants to reach the godhood my King never could reach! " He turned his head as five more flasks glowed. "And you will witness this." He gently placed the core on a stand, making it face the table. He poured the flasks into five templates, creating five more Medals to her shock. One had the image of a Panda, the second having the image of a Kangaroo, but the last three were much different. They were black, like the Grimm…_

" _N-No! Please don't!" She pleaded, unable to do anything._

 _He grabbed the three black cores and examined them then at the other two. "Magnificent…" He said before slowly looking at the Nikos. "These are Panda, Kangaroo, Scorpion which came from the Deathstalker, Crab from the Pincer, and Shrimp which came from the Ebi Grimm. For the three black cores: Sasori, Kani, and Ebi. A Combo that resembles their nature. Being deadly predators." He laughed before digging his hand into his chest, making Pyrrha 'feel' horrified but disgusted as the alchemist pulled out some Cell Medals out of his chest._

" _And now…" He placed his Cell Medals into a cauldron that held more Cell Medals. He placed in the three black cores. "The boy may have destroyed the 6 Purple Cores I worked so hard on… He may have avoided the fate of becoming a Greeed…" He then looked at the Nikos Core. "But with the three black Cores… they are special." He said with each step he took, approaching the Nikos Core. "They can make their own being if…" He was now in front of the display that held the Core of Pyrrha's soul. "... they have a Core that is alive. That is where you come in, my darling Nikos"_

" _No! I rather be dead than become your slave, monster!"_

" _Oh Nikos…" He mocked, grabbing the Core. "You will do everything I say. For the first process if I am to make the new being... " He looked at the other cauldron. He walked to it and placed her on top of the other pile. He grabbed a vial that was glowing a white color. "Time to bring you as a Homunculus." He poured the last piece onto the Core and Cell Medals. It glowed as the cell medals flew around before they landed onto one spot, forming the shape of a human being until… it glowed and there stood Pyrrha Nikos, alive._

" _Another homunculus now alive!" He announced, his arms spread out like wings._

" _Y-You… YOU MONSTER!" She shouted, about to attack him. However, Gara summoned his Poseidon Spear, blocking her punch._

" _Hehehe… I have power, young darling…" He informed. Pyrrha fell back as he snapped his fingers. Two Trash Yummies appeared and got hold of the young Amazon as she struggles in their grip. Gara then waked over the other cauldron and poured another glowing red fluid which glowed as the medals and the three black cores glowed. "And you will serve under my rule!"_

 _Pyrrha growled, spitting in his face as he could see her rage._

 _Gara wiped away the saliva before slapping her harshly, leaving a mark on her. "A king should never be insulted by the likes of you." he informed as the Cell Medals flew around the black Cores. They formed a creature in clustered of medals. It's body opened it, like a cage as Gara looked at her. "And the servant should obey the king's command." He gestured the two Trash Yummies who were dragging her to the cluster of Medals that were opened up. They shoved her inside as the medals closed in on her like a cage as she began to see the medals around her beginning to form a black color as if she will be inside a monster… the same way Enrique was._

' _Jaune…. Enrique…. Save me….' Was the only thought she could muster as the clumps of Cell Medals began to form around her, creating a new body. Its body was black like the Grimm but humanoid. It's legs were like an exoskeleton of a shrimp as extrusions were on its shins. The chest and arms were that of a crab: it's right claw being a massive pincer while the other being clawed hand with four fingers. Crab legs pops out of its back with the shell acting as solid armor with the edges curving sideways, but it had a resemblance of a female breastplate. Its head was the most disturbing feature. A large scorpion acting as a headdress but the pincers was covering the eyes, acting like visors with the stinger being an upward ponytail._

" _Hahahahaha!" He laughed. "Now… we are going on a trip, my servant. We are heading to my old home." The Greeed Armor nods, bowing to him along with the Trash Yummies. "This is just the start for I will have my revenge and be a God! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"_

 _His laugh echoes all around the warehouse as within the Greeed armor, Pyrrha was now in deep sleep._

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Blazing: Taka (x2), Kujaku (x1), Condor (x1)**

 **Scorching: Lion (x1), Tora (x2), Cheetah (x1)**

 **Strongest: Kuwagata (x1), Kamakiri (x1), Batta (x1)**

 **Legendary: Kobura (x1), Kame (x1), Wani (x1)**

 **Water: Shachi (x1), Tako (x1), Unagi (x1)**

 **Gravity: Sai (x1), Gorilla (x1), Zou (x2)**

 **Invincible: Ptera (x1), Tricera (x1), Tyranno (x1)**

* * *

 **(NEXT TIME)**

 **"We meet again, OOO,"** Gara mused.

 **SU~PER~! TATOBA, TA-TO-BA! SUPER!**

 _"Ore wa… Kamen Raida OOO!"_

 **Next Time:** Returned Soul, Final Power, Gara's End

* * *

 **A/N:** That is it for this chapter folks! Not only they met one of the few Alchemist who turn themselves into homunculus but also found out the key to defeating Gara.

Not to mention, Gara has brought back Pyrrha, using her as a Greeed heart and created five new Core Medals but there is a reason behind those intentions. Before you argue and such about Pyrrha being brought back, I am about to say a few things.

 **One** , Pyrrha's Semblance will play an _important_ key part later on (Can't tell you when).

 **Two** , Her status as a homunculus will also play a key role into the story along with the use of Panda and Kangaroo.

And so, I am just laying that out there before you guys get upset and such.

Anyways, the next chapter is the final chapter of the first season of my story! Woohoo! I am so excited to show you guys what will approach. What will happen then? We will have to find out soon enough in the season finale of Remnants of Desires! See you all later!

 **P.S.** Once this story is over, I will be uploading a new story a few days after its completion. Which one you ask? You all will have to wait and see.


	39. Final Chapter: Final Power, Gara's End

**A/N:** What is up everyone! At last, we are finally at our big moment of the story! Welcome to the final chapter of the first season of Remnants of Desires! Wow, can you believe it? After a year and a half, the season finale is finally here. I'm so glad you all enjoyed it. As you now know, this is the debut of the final form for OOO! This is where it ends and where it begins for our Rider. Anyways let us begin the season finale of the story! After all, every end has a beginning so let us begin the finale!

Henshin!

 _Third Person View_

' _Thought'_

 **Greeed/Yummies**

* * *

 _Out near the border of the Lost Kingdom, severals medals were flying towards it before they softly landed on the ground. They slowly took shape of humanoids before revealing what they were. It was Gara, several Trash Yummies and of course, Gara's new toy to be used. The crazed alchemist sighs softly, fond memories coming back to him as he looks at the area,_

" _This land… If that pathetic king wasn't so greedy, I would've had this all to myself…" He sighed._

 _He used his spear to tap the ground, making his toy approach him. "Now my dear, seek." He ordered._

 _The new Greeed nodded before using its senses to detect the trail. When it did, it guided Gara and the Trash Yummies as the first part of the trail lead them to an old village. It scouted the trail until looking at a house before busting the door down. It felt traces of Core Energy but faint, showing that they were here. However, the Greeed gasps, and slightly thrashes as if something was trying to break free from its hold._

 _Gara notices it before he thrust his arm into the Greeed's stomach. "You serve me, you are a puppet, my dear." He warned, but not to the Greeed but what was inside it. "Either stop or I will make sure I enjoy experimenting you as the homunculus you have become."_

" _ **I…. rather die… than let you…. Use me…. Or… harm my…. Friends…"**_ _A small voice called out from inside the Greeed armor._

 _Gara stared before laughing as he drew his arm out as he walked. "Oh, we will see my dear Nikos." He laughed. "Henshin!"_

 **SAME!**

 **KUJIRA!**

 **OOKAMIUO!**

 _Gara was now in his Poseidon armor as he planted the spear, leaning forward a bit._

" _ **Now let us find OOO and take his Core Medals."**_ _He declared._

* * *

 **Remnants of Desires**

* * *

 **Final Chapter:** **Returned Soul, Final Power, Gara's End**

The sun's rays began to enter the room as they hit my eyes and forces me to slowly wake up. A soft yawn escaping my lips as I look down to see Blake, asleep against me. After the Fall of Beacon and Vale, she felt afraid of losing Yang and the others. For me, I too was afraid of losing those closest to me… the ones that were like family to me that I ran away from.

When I first saw her running away, I had to confront her, telling her that she should stop running…

As a result, we both ran away together, staying hidden in the now guarded city of Vale. We avoided anything that involved those close to us, only to help the RideVendor Battalion with the Grimm in the other districts.

Since then, we have yet to visit anyone we know… both of us slightly worried on what they could say since we haven't seen them for 3 months. Though, due to all of this, Blake and I got closer than ever. And I'm glad she accepted my feelings… And as her boyfriend, I never felt more in peace being with her.

Blake hummed softly as she opened her eyes and yawned, "Morning Enrique…" She greeted with a smile.

"Morning, Blake," I responded with a smile of my own. The both of us got out of the bed and I grabbed my jacket before putting it on.

Once ready, we left the secret room and began our exploration of the Lost Kingdom. I realized the more we explored, the more we learn of what the kingdom used to be before it all fell due to the previous Multi-King.

Despite some of it in ruins, it still brought the wonder of how it once was. As we were continuing our exploration, Ankh stopped us.

"Ankh what's-" He stopped me as he gestures with a jab of his thumb. We hid around the corner, spotting several White Fang soldiers in the distance. They seemed to be still looking for us. We quietly listened to their conversation.

"You find anything?"

"No, nothing."

"We better find them. You now how Adam gets if he doesn't get what he wants."

"Yeah, he's brutal."

"At least it's better to follow him. He gets shit done."

"Yeah, but did you see how injured he was. He lost his arm during the Battle at that school three months ago."

"That's why he wants this 'OOO' found so he can pay for what he did."

"Seriously, this 'OOO' must be pretty strong if he can hurt Adam like that. You ever seen him look so pissed?"

"I'd rather not. Don't want him taking his anger out on us. You saw what he did to those humans."

"Yeah, but we also have to work with that freak."

"Shut up. You don't want him hearing us."

"He's not here with us remember?"

"Oh right…"

We moved to the nearest cover we can see before we immediately got away from the area before we all took relief of not being seen by them.

"Guess the White Fang are not leaving this place at all…" I panted.

"How did the White Fang find us anyway?" Blake asked, wondering how they tracked us yesterday. "They couldn't have followed us and yet they did. How?"

"Kazari," Ankh replied. "Scheming bastard can also detect the Core Energy. Guess he told them where we were since he felt the energy of his Core Medals."

"That would explain how they found us yesterday…" I crossed my arms.

"Let's just continue our search and find out where those Super Cores Medals are," Ankh informed. "The sooner we find them, the sooner we can stop Gara and get out of this damn hellhole."

Blake and I nodded in agreement before we begin to follow him in search for the special Core Medals. While avoiding the White Fang, we began our search for the Super Core Medals at the possible places Ankh mentioned.

We know that the place where the alchemist creates their Core Medal projects wouldn't be one of those places since it was nothing but rubble and debris so we had to keep searching in the castle of the Multi-King.

It was getting tiring at first as we had to relax for a moment. However, when we did, something felt wrong. Blake took notice of my stare, seeing myself focused.

"Something wrong Enrique?" Blake asked me.

I focused on the purple Core Medals from my Semblance, my dark brown eyes changing to purple. I was sensing something, something that was unnatural but still familiar. The Core Energy in me seemed to be reacting to it.

As the focus was more intense, the Core Energy I detected was familiar… all too well in fact as I could feel the sinister aura in that energy. Oh no...

"He's here…"

"Who?"

"Gara." I swallowed, the two shocked upon this but Ankh eventually growled in anger.

"What? How did Gara find us?" Blake gasped.

"He made the Cores… so he could sense them too." I gritted my teeth. "Knowing that bastard, we have to find those special Cores that Glacia mentioned before he does. I'll try to hold him off, you and Ankh try to find those Cores."

"I'm not going to leave you to fight him, Enrique." Blake denied.

"Blake, you have to trust me." I continued. "Gara may be strong but I have to give you guys time." I reached for the Medal Book and grabbed SaGoZo, Lion, and Cheetah Medals, placing them in my pocket. "I'll be okay," I said before kissing her and quickly made my way to the entrance of the castle.

As I ran, I eventually made it to the door of the entrance as I watch the doors trying to be forced open. Getting the O-Driver out, I placed it on my waist, the belt forming around me before placing in the SaGoZo combo.

 **SAI!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **ZOU!**

 **SAGOZO… SAGOZO!**

The crests aligned in the symbol of SaGoZo before fully forming the armor. I punched my fists together before going to my stance as I stood my ground, watching the doors to burst open as each hit was getting more and more louder. And in seconds, I noticed several Trash Yummies coming into view. Each one charging at me, but thanks to this Combo, I was easily able to knock them away from me and from where the others could be at.

Though, as I keep hitting them away, I was able to quickly notice that more and more were coming, it was like a zombie horde. Kill one, 4 more show up. They just wouldn't end. And I knew, this was Gara's doing, trying his best to exhaust me before ending me, but I wasn't going to fall for it, as I grabbed the O-Scanner and scanned the medals again.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

I manipulated the gravity to lift myself into the air before I went to the ground with a powerful stomp. The ground cracked and broke before the pieces and cracks moved towards the Yummies. The cracks and pieces soon caught it and the Trash Yummies sank like quicksand resulting with its feet trapped into the ground, unable to escape.

The reformed ground around the Yummy then started coming back to me, bringing the Yummies back with it. I brought back my head and hands, making them glow really bright, knowing what to do next.

I then performed a very powerful double handed punch and headbutt at the same time. This caused the Yummies to explode into the shattered Cell Medals. Yet… oddly enough while the mass of Yummies was gone. Something felt like was about to appear. I got myself ready as I started to hear footsteps.

A shadow casted from outside, a figure was walking in and beginning to grow closer, and in a few seconds, my eyes widen as I took notice of what was nearby. It was another Greeed… That bastard made a Black Greeed! And from the looks of the Greeed armor, it was shelled themed… A scorpion on top, crab for the arms, and…. Shrimp for legs? It was odd… And I wasn't excited to know what power it held.

"Great… another Greeed…" I muttered. This was a new type I never seen before but right now, I had to focus on giving the others time while I handle Gara and now this Greeed. I marched towards the new Greeed as I reeled my armored fist back before delivering a punch but it used it large claw to block the attack before using its claw on the other hand to strike me but it only pushed me a few inches which were good enough as I stomped the ground, creating a seismic tremor, making the kaijin stumble before I aimed my arms at the ground, using them as a boost, launching myself into the air before coming down and gave it a headbutt to its chest.

But oddly enough, I stopped?! My head was close to its chest, but I couldn't get closer, in fact, I was being pushed away? I slowly realized it hasn't moved its claws, its eyes only glowed as it actual began to push me back before slowly lifting me into the air. It began to feel… familiar? I tried to move my arms, only to feel some kind of force to push it back down before the Greeed slams me into the ground hard.

I gritted my teeth and got back up only to be sent flying into the wall again. I tried to move but it felt like my armor was being… magnetized. No… that can't be right…

" **We meet again, OOO,"** Poseidon sneered. Behind the Greeed was Gara in his Poseidon armor as he placed his hand on the Greeed's shoulder. " **Like my new creation? It is a special Greeed. Born from three black cores I made. Plus…"** He visor flashed for a moment as he looked up at me. " **You recognize its power, don't you?"**

I was confused to why he asked me that question. Why would he even ask me that?

Unless… no… he didn't… it can't be…

My body began to tremble upon the question. "Y-You couldn't… she…" I got out.

" **Why don't you introduce yourself…. Pyrrha Nikos? No….my Nikos Greeed."** He then began to laugh out like a madman, the Greeed's helmet becoming Cell Medals before separating itself in half before revealing a pale face of Pyrrha.

It… It can't be… "P-Pyrrha…" I said in utter shock. The Cell Medals closed up, covering her head, and becoming its scorpion head. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER YOU INSANE BASTARD!?"

" **I brought her back from the very ashes she was after her death."** He replied with a laugh. " **I have brought her back as a homunculus and she won't hear you. The new Greeed I made is the shell while her life force and Aura powers it."** He then gave me a devious grin, **"And now… I feel like turning all of your loved ones into Greeeds after their death… Starting with... That. Little. Black. Cat."**

My eyes widen under my helmet as Gara aimed his spear at me but a lot of rounds sent the new Greeed away along with Poseidon while I fell back to the ground. I looked back and saw Ankh with the Birth Buster along with Blake with her Gambol Shroud.

" **Ankh? Guess your host has** _ **finally**_ **adjusted to your skills hasn't it?"** Poseidon mused, leaning forward with his spear.

"Yes… and I am gonna enjoy this for the hell you have committed 800 years ago and in this era." Ankh countered.

Gara wagged his finger, " **Tsk, tsk, tsk. Ankh, Ankh,** _ **Ankh**_ **. You and I may have the same experience but I have done one thing that was the same for you."** He snapped his fingers as the cell medals separated from the Greeed's head, revealing Pyrrha once more. " **I brought back the person you three knew. Only now she is no longer human, she is a homunculus. My precious puppet if you may."**

"You… YOU SOULLESS MONSTER!" Blake shouted out, tears in her eyes as she sent several Dust bullets at the Dark Rider.

Gara made the Greeed use its claw to block the bullets, making him laugh. " **Nice try, Faunus."** He mused. " **Nikos Greeed, kill them and get me those Medals while I handle OOO."**

It screeched before rushing towards us, making Ankh and Blake fight the Greeed while I handle Poseidon. I quickly switched SaGoZo with Taka, Tora, and Cheetah before scanning them.

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **CHEETAH!**

Now equipped with the three pieces of armor, I avoided the attack that Gara tried to do before I used the Tora claws to strike him but he managed to block a few before countering them with a thrust to my chest, sparks casting off my armor, sending me rolling across the ground.

I quickly notice him bringing his spear down at me, causing me to catch the blade with both hands. But he was exerting more strength to try and kill me but I wasn't going to let that happen. Pushing it to the side, the spear pierces the ground next to me, allowing me to roll away and kick Poseidon in the chest. The attack sent him reeling a bit but not enough as he unleashed a torrent of water that pushed me with full force to the wall.

Grimacing in pain, I raised my head to see Poseidon as I could feel his harsh and menacing glare at me. He then picked me up by the neck as dark like aura poured out, entering my body as I began to feel his dark desires trying to restart the Purple Cores once again. He was trying to get the Purple Cores out of my Aura/Semblance.

" **I will get those Cores back… and put them back in your chest. You were meant to be my tool to rid this world once more… And I will make it happen again…. One way or another…"** He said, glaring coldly at me.

I struggled in his grip as I grabbed his hand. "Let go of me!" I demanded.

 **"Not until you become a Greeed like you should have. You were brought here to be my tool. You were the perfect vessel. My search brought me to your world, Earth. I have worked 800 years and learning that you grew up with a void at first before losing the only people you cared about. And then, it created the selfless person, a person with no desires! You were the perfect vessel! And I won't let my task go down again!"**

I clenched my hand before I slowly grabbed his arm. "Gara… I do have desires…" I announced. "The desire to protect my friends!" I struck his chest, making him stumble back before kicking him away, sending him out of the castle as he crashed through the glass window. Seeing him gone, for now, I had to focus on helping the others.

Blake though blocked the Nikos Greeed's arm as she looks at it with sadness and worry, "Pyrrha! It's me, Blake! Please stop attacking!" She pleaded with her.

The Greeed blocked Blake's next attack before the Faunus parried it as Ankh delivered a few punches to its side but the black kaijin used Pyrrha's polarity to send Ankh away since Ankh's arm was filled with cell medals. It turned to Blake and used the magnetism to disarm her and swung its fist at Blake, sending her to the wall as she gasped for air before landing on the ground.

She began to struggle to get up from the pain since her Aura was low and she couldn't use more in time. She slowly looked up, seeing the large claw that was ready to cleave her in two but in time, it was blocked with the help of Tora Claws and the Cheetah legs to help me get there in time.

"You okay, Blake?" I asked, beginning to struggle with its increasing strength.

"Yeah… I am now…" She panted, slowly getting up.

I focus on my Aura to punch the Greeed away from us both as we focused on the Greeed. "We have to get Pyrrha, we have to." She said.

"But how? If our words can't even reach her…"

The Greeed got up but we saw it was twitching a bit. _**"E-Enrique…. Please help me…"**_ Pyrrha's voice pleaded.

There had to be something… there… has to be… Using the purple Core Medals was out of the question. There was no telling what my Semblance would do to Pyrrha while she was inside that thing. I did not want to risk it.

Memories of my past fights came back. I remember when I saved Nora I used Cheetah to get her out and for the Gori Bagon, I punched through the Kuwagata Yummy's armor…. That's it!

"Blake, I think I know how to get her out!" I claimed. I quickly switched Tora with Gorilla and scanned the medals.

 **TAKA!**

 **GORILLA!**

 **CHEETAH!**

"Blake, I want you to try to keep it focused on you. I will use the gauntlets to dent the armor so I can break through and use the Cheetah Legs." I informed.

The Faunus nods to me, "I trust you, Enrique…" She says, charging at the Greeed, using her skills to distract if for now to give me some time. I used the Cheetah legs to dash towards the Nikos Greeed and used the gauntlets to punch the armor, making it stumble a bit. When it tried to look at me, Blake used her Gambol Shroud to strike it, distracting it as its attention now back on her.

Blake dodged the Greeed's acid spray it used from its stinger ponytail before striking its chest once again before I once again delivered another fast punch onto its chest. It growled out as it sent a ripple of magnetic energies, pushing us away from it as it tried to heal up from the damage we gave it. I did my best as I used the Cheetah Legs again and delivered another punch to its chest as I was dashing back and forth, deliver punches to it from all directions. Each hit was improving but my legs were finally beginning to tire out. ' _I can't give up…'_ I thought as I continued as I finally delivered the punch that cracked its armor.

Seeing this as my chance, I kicked the Greeed back a bit before I got hold of its shoulders and began to use the Cheetah legs to dig through the cracked hide. However, the Greeed was striking my armor as I focus on my aura to prevent more damage but I felt it getting lower and lower.

' _Just… a … little… more…'_ I continued the flurry of kicks until I saw a glimpse of Pyrrha. My eyes widen before I grabbed her and mustered all the strength to pull her out of the Greeed as I now had her in my arms as I moved away from the kaijin.

I felt tears under my helmet upon seeing her. She was here. Our friend is back with us. "En….rique?" Pyrrha said, her eyes opening slowly.

"You're okay… Pyrrha." I choked, tears being felt under my helmet. "Welcome back."

But it wasn't over as the Greeed Body, now missing a Core began to go berserk. It smacked Blake and Pyrrha away as it grabbed me by my neck and lifted me up. It began to slam it claws at me, repeatedly, it was after my Cores!

The black Greeed repeatedly punched my chest, each hit denting the ground as I felt my Aura was no longer active as my vision began to blur while the crest of my armor began to flash, showing that the Cores will eject soon.

"Damn…" It punched again. "It…" It raised its claw once more, ready to finish the job until a certain Greeed attacked it from behind.

Ankh stood there, his arm in the Greeed's back as it remained still, "Che… Pathetic… You're just a walking pile of corrupted desires…." He scoffed, his arm glowing as the armor of the Greeed began to pour out flames from its body, before erupting into a pile of cell medals, leaving the 3 Black Cores there before Ankh steps on them, shattering them in an instant. "And I rather not take them."He took a deep breath due to the use of energy before turned his head to me and reaching his hand out. "Get up."

I slowly reached my hand out, his grip grabbing hold before pulling me up as my body felt numb but I was still standing. I looked at Blake who was with Pyrrha, in tears upon seeing her again. "You're back…" Blake said in tears.

"What…. Happened to you two?" She asked. "You look like you've been through hell..."

"It's… hard to explain, Pyrrha…" I said.

"Do that later, let's go before Gara gets back up and goes after us," Ankh advised. We nodded before we all ran out of the castle to get away.

* * *

After getting a good distance away from the castle, we all took a moment to take a small break. "Is everyone here?"

"Yeah," Blake sighed.

Ankh rolled his eyes before glancing at Pyrrha as we followed his sights to her. "So Nikos is back huh?" He said, leaning to her, looking in her eyes. "Gara really is a crazy bastard."

"Please don't remind me…" Pyrrha hugged her arms, remembering how he brought her back. Remembering what she did and how she made the others feel, she looked at her hands, "How am I going to live with the fact that… I am now a medal homunculus…?"

"Welcome to my world…" Ankh huffed until Blake glared at him.

Pyrrha was right though, she is now a medal homunculus, she is basically immortal like Ankh, unless a Core Medal is destroyed. How would the others even react upon this, more importantly hearing that she is one? I approaching the redhead.

"Pyrrha… I know how it felt being a Greeed… believe me…" I said before placing my hand on her shoulder. "And Ankh can understand your situation."

"Oi."

"But, there is one thing that makes it special." I continued. "You have a soul, you have emotions, even more you are human just from having a soul."

"But…. what would the others say? Would…. They…. Would even Jaune accept me back?" She asked, unsure. "I mean… I pretty much told him everything… then tossed him like a doll…. He… He may already be with someone else…."

"Pyrrha, it doesn't matter what you are now." I shook my head.

"Doesn't matter? Enrique… I'm just another monster now. I'm nothing but a shell…. Even if I wanted to be happy, I will never die… I can only watch as you all grow old and pass on… leaving me…" Tears began running down her face, she was in despair from this.

My eyes soften before wiping away her tear. "I know it hurts to know but you might have a chance for a future to see the next generations. You're Pyrrha, the 'Invincible Girl'. A girl who is our friend. We will be with you to the very end. We will be here to help you, even willing to find a way to make you human again."

She looked up at me, before hugging me tightly, crying her heart out. She was still unsure what the others would think, but right now, with us being here, was more than enough for her to be happy… Until she can confront the others, and Jaune.

"You can stay with us, Pyrrha… that way you can think over your thoughts before we ever see the others," Blake offered.

"Thank you…." She nodded.

I nodded before pulling away from the hug, giving her a soft, gentle smile. "It's the least we can do for you, Pyrrha." Blake reminded while I nodded in agreement.

"So… what are you guys doing?"

"We might have found a way to defeat Gara for good," I explained. "Turns out there is another Full Combo somewhere hidden in the Lost Kingdom."

"You mean you really found a way to stop him?"

"Yeah… but we have to find those Super Cores," said Blake.

"I want to help," Pyrrha volunteered. "If this is a way to stop Gara than I want to help find them too."

"Alright then, let's continue out search," Ankh declared.

* * *

With Pyrrha now tagging along, our search for the Core Medals would be quicker. With how things have been since we arrived in the Lost Kingdom, we needed the extra help in the search for the Super Core Medals. However, the search was leading to no results at all. We have been searching throughout certain areas of the Lost Kingdom and couldn't find squat. So right now we all regrouped at the central plaza of the forgotten village, trying to give our end of any kick but sadly none.

"We have been searching for hours…" I leaned against the wall. "And we have no luck on finding those Super Cores."

"Damn it," Ankh kicked a rock across the ground. "This will take forever! I knew that Glacia was blabbering nonsense of those Super Cores!

"I know we can-"

"She said so herself! They are long lost for centuries!" He barked. "There is no way we will even find them in time!"

"But what about searching-"

"Just face it! We all have been going on some wild goose chase!" Ankh yelled.

"Hey give it a rest Ankh!" Pyrrha scolded. "If Enrique believes there is a chance then we have to take it."

Ankh glared at Pyrrha for a moment until he averted his gaze from her, clicking his tongue with a huff of annoyance. "Whatever… you all know this will lead to-"

"Ankh?"

"MOVE NOW!" He shouted.

Before we can even comply, a blast of energy struck us all, tossing us to the ground as we see Gara walking towards us, a large malicious aura pouring out of his body in cold fury.

" **How….. How dare you defy me!? You're just my puppet!"** He shouted out, swinging his blade as it struck Pyrrha, Cells Medals pouring out from each strike. **"I'll just kill you again, and bring you back, with no memories this time!"**

"Pyrrha!" I called out and rushed to her but the mad alchemist grabbed me by the neck.

" **As for you, you took away the only plan that would have helped me bring control to the kingdoms! You were supposed to be nothing!"** He tossed me to Ankh before he looks at Pyrrha with utter hatred.

My muscles were aching as all of us watched. " **No one dares defy me!"** He continued as he raised the spear once more. But once he swings it down, it struck Blake, as she stood there, arms out as her Aura finally depleted.

"I… I won't… let you… harm Pyrrha… a-anymore…" She said before Poseidon growled, grabbing her by her neck, lifting her up with his might.

My eyes widen in fear. I didn't want to lose Blake… she was everything to me. I love her to my very heart and soul.

 _ **Oi, New OOO? Do you want more power?**_

Time suddenly stopped as I blinked, confused to the voice. Before I knew it, a golden glow surrounded me, causing me to close my eyes. When I opened them, I was found myself in a familiar cafe. The interior was decorated with what looks like the symbols for the Core Medals and Combos, along with art of OOO, an unknown figure, standing before me, overwhelming power was flowing out from his body, as I couldn't make out who it was.

"Isn't that what the Multi-King did?" I reminded as I turn to the figure. "I don't want to be like that crazy king."

" _Heh, he only lost cause his desire was for power to rival a god. Just like with Gara."_ The figure chuckled, _"Demo... If you have a more powerful desire… One that you know fully what know what it is. You'll be able to obtain power that transcends time and space."_

"Wait a minute, that voice…" I recognized.

The figure walked out of the dim light, revealing a person I have seen before! He was wearing a red scarf, with a yellow shirt, and green pants, but each one had the medals symbol for TaToBa, and on his shoulder was a stick with a tie dye colored underwear hanging on it.

"You're Eiji Hino!" I recognized. "H-How…?"

Eiji smiled as he sets down the stick before looking at me, "You see, you and I are not that different." He explained. "We both reach out because all we want to do is help those around us. We both lost people we care about greatly. We were selfless and we wanted to do something to protect our friends. The power to protect everyone we care about. The desire to protect them."

"But… am I really considered a Kamen Rider like you?" I said. "I… I didn't do anything after what happened to two of my friends… even more, I couldn't stop Gara from hurting Blake…"

Eiji sighed, walking over as he flicks my head, making me look at him, "Enrique-san…" He then placed his hand on my shoulder. "You have more than earned your right to be called a Kamen Rider. And you still have time to save your loved one." And with that, he held his hand out as what appeared was none other than that same black box, I gave to Blake. I slowly got hold of it before opening it, seeing something that surprised me. It was the King Combo, only… the symbols were golden…

"This is…"

"The _final_ power of OOO. The Ultimate King Combo." He smiled to me. This took me by surprise. This whole time, we had the Super Core Medals and never knew. "Now…. To use it… Just shout out what your _true_ desire is. We both know who it's meant for." he chuckled.

I stared at the Cores before clenching them, "My desire…." I look up at him, "I want to be with Blake, forever! I want to protect her to the very end!" I smiled, the Cores responding to my desire.

"Good… Now kick his butt alright, OOO?" Eiji smiled as everything began to turn white.

* * *

I blinked, realizing I was back in Remnant as I looked up, to see Poseidon, holding Blake by her neck, the Dark Rider growling as he places the tip of his spear against her chest, " **Say goodbye to your lover, OOO. And say goodbye to your free will, girl…"** He said coldly.

I clenched my hands before I used the Cheetah Legs and sped towards Poseidon, punching him away, making him let go of Blake as she fell to my arms. "Blake…" I called her. "I… I'm sorry I couldn't protect you…."

Blake coughed, finally getting air as she smiles and places her hand on my cheek, "But you did Enrique…" She said softly.

Poseidon got up, more aura pouring out of him as he glares at me, **"No more… I will not be made of a fool, no more! You will die OOO!** _ **I**_ **WILL BE THE GOD FOR ALL WILL BOW DOWN!** He shouted out, angered and ready to use every ounce of his strength now.

I glared at Poseidon before reaching for the side and got out the three golden Cores. Even though he was wearing the helmet, I could sense the shock that was emanating from him.

" **I-Impossible! Those King Cores? You had them this whole time?!"** He got out.

I placed in the Cores in the slots, one by one as a golden glow formed around Blake and I. I gently set her down before standing up. "I know who I have become, Gara," I said, grabbing the O-Scanner as the chime was sounding out. "And now…. I will protect everyone!" I quickly scanned the medals as the golden glow completely surrounded me.

 **SUPER! SUPER! SUPER!**

 **SUPER TAKA!**

 **SUPER TORA!**

 **SUPER BATTA!**

 **SU~PER~! TATOBA, TA-TO-BA! SUPER!**

A golden-colored aura surrounded my body as the crests of the three Medals formed a special crest before it flew back to me. Now I was equipped with all three Special Core Medals as the golden glow soon died down, revealing the new form I was in with the bodysuit being an assortment of the three colors that corresponds with each crest. To top it all was a silhouette of golden bird-like wings that appeared before vanishing.

The Taka Head helmet had turned into the Taka Head Brave with a more detailed design on the helmet to resemble a bird's head with the yellow beak being a gemstone. The wing-like attachments to my helmet had become bigger and the eyes had turned red. It was very similar to that from the Blazing Combo. However, the red color reaches to the crest as the image of Taka was black instead of red.

My torso armour was yellow and had pointed shoulders, almost like that of the ears of a tiger with three black lines on them. The forearms were now black while my knuckles had yellow plating. The Tora crest was black as its background was also yellow while the folded claws were longer and the tips of the bladed claws were arches a bit.

Lastly, my legs were covered with segmented black armour from the knee down as the lower chest down was all green and there were spikes attached to my feet like a grasshopper. The lower section of the crest I bore was all green while the lines in the image of the grasshopper were black.

This was the powerful Combo after PuToTyra, the Super TaToBa form, the Ultimate King Combo.

 **(Cue TaToBa Combo - Regret Nothing ~ Tighten Up)**

The new power that was coursing through my body, it felt… amazing. It felt like my body was in strength that I never thought I would reach. My vision felt sharp as a hawk, my arms felt like I can deliver strikes too fast for even a trained eye to see, and my legs felt more agile than before of any Full Combo I used. This power… This was the power that the Multi-King tried to reach, the true power of OOO.

And now… I will use that power to protect those close to me. To stop Gara once and for all!

" **It** **It can't be…"** Poseidon stumbled in shock, no, _fear_ of what he has seen. The Super Cores now being used against him to end the deeds he has committed.

"Gara…" I raised my head to the armored alchemist. "This fight is between you and me. I reach out to help those around me. I reach out to protect them… if they are okay then I am okay! I will fight to stop those like you! Those like Kazari and Cinder!" I got into the familiar stance that Eiji does when he fights. " _I am… Kamen Raida OOO!_ "

" **You dare….. you think you can use the most powerful Core Medals with your 'precious' thoughts of caring? DON'T SCREW WITH ME!"** He shouted out, charging at me, in full rage. I vanished in a mist of trio colors as I 'moved' aside before striking Gara across the chest with the extended claws. I dashed towards him in immense speed as I began to strike him left and right as sparks were casting off his armor. When he blocked my next attack, I folded the claws and punched his stomach before jumping up and kicked him a few times with upgraded, enhanced kicks as each kick was sending him skidding across the ground.

" **You insolent brat!"**

I blocked the next strike with my wrist before delivering a palm strike to his chest and struck his chest once again, more sparks casting off his armor again. Whenever he tried to strike I was able to dodge them thanks to the Combo's power. It was like being in some kind of suspended animation. I could see every move he made. And even more so, his future moves as well.

Poseidon spun his spear before thrusting his hand, flattening it and making it like a spear as well to try and pierce me, but instead, he stabbed the wall as I got behind him, grabbing his collar and tossing him away from me and the others, much to his surprise and rage.

" **I will never be defeated by the likes of you! I am the one who will become God!"** He roared out, throwing his spear at me in high speed. But for once, I stood still as the spear came in …. And broke. It shattered upon making contact with my claws and his main weapon was now gone, much to his surprise and for once, horror. **"I-Impossible…."**

"It's over for you, Gara..."

He fell back on his rear, finally cornered. " **You… You wouldn't kill me… I can give you everything! I can even take you back to your home world!"**

I only stared at him and said, "I told you before, I am already home for I already have what means the most to me."

" **W-What are you babbling now?"**

"I'm saying, that I am happy where I am… Being here with my friends. And with Blake. She is now my desire to live. I am no longer a young man with a void. I now have a reason to live!" Upon shouting that, the Core for Super TaToBa glowed brightly, the glows overflowing me as the Tora Chest glowed, lowering the Super Tora Claws, as they hung onto the ground. They were very long yet, felt like paper.

Poseidon lunged at me but I evaded the attack before striking him across the chest, creating sparks that casted off his armor. He roared in anger, his rage in full fury.

" _ **DIE!"**_

I looked up at Poseidon as I vanished yet again, in seconds, several after images of me appear, slashing him and kicking him around like a pinball. I was even faster than RaToraTah! No…. Time was making me move faster than before as I kicked him around, stopping near the wall as the claws glowed brightly, I made one swing as an energy claw slash is sent out, striking Poseidon and forcing him back into Gara once again. The insane alchemist pants, covered in injuries as he looks at me.

"P-Please… have mercy…." He pleaded, though him saying that made me sick.

"You have committed uncountable sins for 800 years, Gara…" I grabbed the O-Scanner, "And for once… I will be satisfied, by finally stopping you…. You are not worth saving Gara… so now enjoy your hell." I said to him, scanning the medals as they chimed and the golden OOO symbol appearing from it.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

I was surrounded by a golden glow once again as all three parts were surrounded in a fiery color. The Batta Legs grew once more, forming the Super Batta Legs as the Super Taka Helmet glowed, along with the eyes and Rider Gem, as red energy wings formed on my back. I then jumped into the air as the golden rings formed in front of me, I let out a battle cry as I passed through each one, flying straight towards Gara, hitting him as he screams in the most painful way possible, the Golden OOO symbol showing from my kick as he was encompassed in a large fiery explosion of cell medals. I landed on the other side, panting softly as the fire died down, showing nothing of Gara left, only the broken spear, and a cracked Poseidon Driver.

 **(End Song)**

I panted more as I slowly reached for the buckle and put it back in its original position, dispelling the armor as I fell on my back, seeing the sky in the broken roof. But in seconds, I was greeted by the hug by Blake, holding me with a worried look on her face, but a smile as well. The nightmares he caused was finally over…. The mad alchemist was gone for good. The crazy man who brought me here into this world, the one who tried to make me a monster. But now… he is gone.

I looked at Blake and smiled before looking at Pyrrha, as Ankh was helping her up along with Blake.

"The madman is finally gone…" Pyrrha said.

I nodded, "He's gone for good…" I looked at the Super Cores. "It's thanks to these Cores. My true desire… it is what gave me the power to stop Gara." I soon then felt Blake placing her hands on me, bringing me into a deep kiss before parting.

"Don't scare me like that…." She said, tears in her eyes. I nodded before she helps me up, my body feeling numb but I was hanging in there.

"So… the Super Cores were with us this whole time…" The Bird Greeed muttered. "Damn that Kougami… he must have used a similar device from before to block the detection of the Core Energy from us Greeed and Gara."

"But Gara is finally defeated," Pyrrha sighed, wrapping her arms around herself. "After what he did…"

"Let's just get out of here, I already had enough of this damn place," Ankh informed, the others nodding in agreement as we all went to where the Bullhead was as all four of us entered the airship. Ankh flipped the panels before activating the controls, making the Bullhead soar before pushing the controls, making the vehicle move.

As we made our way back, I looked at Pyrrha who was looking out, seeing the ocean that was below. "3 months... " She muttered. "I was… dead… for that long…"

I nodded slowly, "It has been a while… and now… the kingdoms don't know who to trust. Even more was that Beacon is still overrunned with Grimm…" I leaned my head back. "Vale is already under the protection of the Kougami Foundation."

"What…. About the others? How are they?" She asked us.

Blake and I lowered our heads. "We… never got in contact with them since Beacon fell…" Blake answered. "We have been away from them… we.. we ran away after that day."

"And… the only thing we last heard which was 3 months ago, a week after Beacon fell, Yang is at Patch… Weiss is back in Atlas with her father. As for Ruby, Jaune, Nora, and Ren… I just don't know where they are now."

"Can… we visit them?" She asked us.

"I doubt the military assholes from Atlas would allow us to enter," Ankh said from the pilot seat, eating his ice cream.

Blake and I glared at Ankh despite his back on us before looking at Pyrrha. "We… don't know…" I replied.

"I think it's a good idea actually… Helps air things out between you two." Pyrrha said, all of us missing her leadership skills.

I stared at the ground before looking at the Super Cores. I clenched them before looking at Ankh. "You should go see Sara."

"Why should I have to?" Ankh scoffed.

"I'm sure you want to have a chance to talk to Sara."

Ankh was quiet for a moment before he let out an irritated sigh, "Fine…" He finished up his treat before grabbing the controls to head back to the Kougami Foundation.

Glancing out the window, I took a deep breath and reached in my pocket. Once I felt the item, I pulled it out and in my hand was a Batta Candroid that I kept with me. Seeing it made me remind myself that I needed to do something before we begin our departure.

Might as well make it the right time and do a recording.

* * *

 _In Patch, a familiar blond bombshell was sitting on a tree stump, looking at her hand. It has been three months since that day..._

 _The day Beacon was gone. The day she lost her arm to…_ him

 _She remembered how she had nightmares of that night. Adam was at a completely different level. When she saw him stand over Blake, she just lost it and went after him. He did not even think twice before severing her arm._

 _If Enrique had not arrived in time, then things would have been worse._

 _And now Yang Xiao Long had only one arm. She felt incomplete. She was proud of few things, like her hair, but she was also proud of her strength. She was proud that she could beat anyone with her fists. However, Adam had taken her strength from her. If he had cut her hair, that was one thing, but she had lost one arm. She did not know if she could move on from this defeat with the constant reminder._

 _And it was not just losing her arm. She also lost her school and her team. She had dreams of them spending the next four years, training to be Huntresses. Maybe setting off to change the world one day at a time. Yang was always adventurous, and she wasn't afraid to face tomorrow._

 _But the fall of Beacon, and then Adam, she began to fear what was to come. She did not know what to do._

 _And now Ruby was gone. She had gone to find answers and Yang had not gone with her. She was just too wrapped up in her depression._

 _Her dad, Taiyang, did not seem worried about Ruby. But that was how he looked to her. She would sometimes see him desperately looking at his Scroll, like he was waiting for Ruby to call back._

 _Yang knew Ruby could handle herself, and that she was not alone, but she could not help but worry. Ruby was her baby sister. She was also all Yang had left of the mother that raised them both. Yang never knew he real mother. She just ran off after she was born, leaving her with Taiyang. Summer then came and took care of her with her dad, eventually becoming her stepmom._

 _But to Yang, Summer was her mom. Raven...Raven was a stranger._

 _She heard the door of her room open and sees her Dad. "Yes Dad…?"_

" _You got a package, Yang," Her dad presented a small box._

 _Yang looks at her dad then at the item in question. Seeing it made her confused to who would sent a package to her?_

 _Despite her condition, she wanted to know who it was from so she grabbed it and walked back to her room. Closing the door behind her with her leg, she sets the package on the bed before she begins to unwrap it with her only arm. Once unwrapped, she saw that it was a Candroid much to her surprise. Who would sent a Candroid to her?_

 _The possibility was Kougami since he made them but she wanted to know. Opening the tab, it converted into the Batta mode as it leapt out of her hand before landing on the desk. It turned to her before it projected a video recording on the wall._

'Hey Yang… if you are seeing this, it means you got my package _.' She raised her head in surprise, seeing the recording of her good friend Enrique as she sees him take a deep breath. He was still alive for the past three months since the Fall of Beacon._

 _She noticed he looked tired and exhausted as if he just went through something that made him lose a lot of energy._

'I'm pretty sure you are upset by now even doubting yourself… after what happened against _him."_

 _Yang was about to stop the recording until she saw his saddened face. "_ And I don't blame you… I know how hard it is to go through that… you are not the only one who suffers nightmares of a horrible incident… but you shouldn't doubt yourself Yang. I know so much has happened but don't give up. I know that it isn't you to give up. I even proved to Adam by kicking his ass and returning the favor by cutting off his arm."

 _Hearing this shocked Yang. Her friend… actually bested Adam during the Battle of Beacon and showed him how it felt to lose an arm._

"Did I regret it, no… I did it to return the favor and to show he isn't gonna continue with his actions." Enrique continued. "Just remember Yang, you don't need to be afraid… don't give up and doubt yourself like I did when Gara tried to turn me into a Greeed. Just do what you do. How do you say? Go out with a _Yang_.

 _Hearing this finally made Yang let out a faint laugh and smile._

" _Anyways… just… remember what I said… I know you can take the next step so you can continue on with what you do. Just like I did," She saw him smile in the recording. "Take care." And just like that, the recording ended before she looks out the window._

 _The blonde bombshell clenched her hand knowing her friend was right. She just can't give up. All she needed to do was take the next step. The question was… how can she…?_

 _Only time can tell for when she can take that step.. but she knows that she will go for that chance soon ._

* * *

 _In the middle of night, the heiress was in her room looking out the window, seeing the shattered moon. It has been awhile since that day Beacon fell. She was unable to leave Atlas at all after what happened._

 _It brought sadness to her knowing she can't be with her friends, only being here with her 'family'. Last she heard, the Kougami Foundation brought total safety to the kingdom of Vale. As for her friends… she just hopes they are alright. Especially her friend who helped her see things clearly._

 _Without Beacon, the Rider would be on his own. The thought left her concerned for her friend._

 _As Weiss mused about her situation, a tapping on her window caught her attention. Looking towards the direction of the tapping, she saw a Taka Candroid and a Batta Candroid._

 _Weiss opened the window and both Candroids entered the room. The Batta Candroid leaped towards Weiss and she caught it in her hand._

 _The Batta Candroid projected a holographic screen._

" _Hey, Weiss."_

 _Weiss gasped. It was Enrique._

" _If you got this message, this means the two Candroids I sent managed to reach you. I was not sure if they could find you all the way in Atlas. So, here's hoping you got this."_

" _What a dolt," Weiss muttered, but she smiled as she held the Candroid to watch the recording._

" _I'm fine, and so are Blake and Ankh. We're still in Vale, but we're going to be heading out soon. Anyway, how are you? I hope you're doing well, all safe and sound in Atlas. Though, I heard things are not doing so well since the Fall of Beacon. Atlas' PR suffered because of it."_

 _It was indeed true to what he said. People think Atlas was also responsible for the deaths of civilians in Vale when the Atlas machines turned on the very people they were supposed to protect._

" _I am sure you are wondering why I am doing this recording too knowing you," he took a deep breath. "So I want to say is that some things can be difficult in life. Realizing there is more to you than you think. But what I learned is that I know there is more to you than you can achieve Weiss. You may be some heiress… and a tsundere." She felt her eyebrow twitch for a moment but was replaced with a faint laugh. "But you focused on something you want to become. A Huntress. Others can't control your path. Your oath of your own to follow." He smiled. "And I will be cheering for you when you reach the end of the path. It is an old saying one person said. 'Your path is your own, your actions is what carves that road to that very path and lead to the goal."_

 _Her smile grew upon his words._

" _Don't give up on your goal, and never let others control what you want to do. You are you and that is what counts." He gave her a kind smile. "Take care Weiss and stay safe."_

 _Just like that, the recording ended and the Batta Candroid folded into Can mode._

 _Weiss felt tears running down her pale skin. She gently wipes them away before she smiled. Her friend was right. She couldn't let others control what she wants to do. She wanted to become a Huntress, not an heiress._

* * *

 _Ruby was with the remaining members of Team JNPR, continuing their travel to Mistral by foot. It has been three months since Beacon fell and now she and her three friends chose to stop the ones responsible. As of now, they were camping for the night but Ruby was twisting and turning in her sleep before she shot up, looking around before she slowly calmed herself down._

 _She has been suffering nightmares ever since that day Beacon fell. Pyrrha's death, her team separated, even the unknown fate of her best friend she looked up to._

 _Enrique was possibly gone…_

 _She couldn't forget his words he said to her when he carried her to safety. She was afraid of hearing the news of the possible death of her friend. It scared her…_

 _She hugged her legs before she heard sounds of chirping. In the sky, something was flying towards her before it landed on her lap. To her surprise, it was a Taka Candroid and a Batta Candroid. The Batta Candroid hopped onto Ruby's hand before it projected a screen on the ground next to her, presenting a recording_

 _Her eyes widened when she saw who was in the recorded video. It was the Rider, Enrique. He was still alive and kicking._

" _Ruby, if you are seeing this it means you finally got the two Candroids that I sent to look for you." Her friend looked tired and exhausted._

" _And don't worry about Blake. She's fine. Ankh's looking out for us too." He assured with a smile. His smile faltered slightly as he took a deep breath. "I am sure you are wondering why I am sending this recording. Don't give up on what you are doing. I know you, Jaune, Ren, and Nora are going to stop the ones responsible. I know you can do great things knowing you. You dreamt of becoming a Huntress. Don't give up on that dream. While the world may be dark, there is always a light of hope for the world. You are one of those examples, Ruby."_

 _She felt her eyes well up as she continues to hear his words._

" _You are a positive girl who wants to do what is right. To help people. I know it was tough after what happened at Beacon but you can't let that affect you. Pyrrha wouldn't want you to give up right then and there, she would want you to stand up and fight for what is right."_

 _She noticed tears in his eyes. He chuckled as he wipes them away. "Guess it is getting to me too." He said. "Ruby, I know you can do great things."_

 _She finally felt her tears escape from her eyes._

" _We'll reunite someday. I know that as long as our hearts are connected, we'll find each other again." He smiled. "Be safe Ruby. I'm cheering for ya to the very end."_

 _When the recording ended, she whimpered and hugged the Candroid tightly. She was on the verge of crying, not from sorrow but the happiness and hearing everything Enrique said. He was willing to cheer her on no matter how far he was or where he is. Willing to reach out and help her. She was happy he is alive. Even hearing Blake and Ankh are with him. He was right, she couldn't give up. That wasn't her. If he believes she can do what is right then she won't let him down._

" _Ruby? Is everything alright?" She turned her head, seeing the other three awake._

" _Enrique sent us a message."_

 _She replayed the message for them._

" _He's okay!" Nora said._

 _Despite seeing how exhausted and tired he looked, they were glad to see him alright. Hearing the entire message, his words gave the four determination. They couldn't give up. If he is cheering for them then they will continue on with the task._

' _Thank you, Enrique,' Ruby smiled._

* * *

After returning to Vale, the sun was slowly rising for the new day. With me was Blake as the both of us couldn't rest since we recently made a decision to leave Vale soon for a good reason.

With the White Fang possibly going to find us both and Pyrrha now alive, it was about time we leave the city and travel. That being said, we told Kougami about it and he was kind enough to lend some supplies and such for our departure.

Both Blake and I were on the hill, staring at the city view as we had our belongings with us.

"Hey Blake…" I called out, keeping my eyes focused on the city view.

"Yes?"

"Remember when I told Gara about my true desire?" I recalled.

"Yeah…. Why do you ask?"

I closed my eyes, "At first my desire was to protect those around me, those that I call my family." I replied. "But after spending my time with you after that day… I realized that my desire… my true desire…" I opened my eyes before looking at her. "Is to stay by your side forever. You are everything to me, Blake. I love you so much that I don't know what I'll do without you."

Blake, blushed brightly from that, touched to hear about my true desire as she smiles, hugging me tightly, "I love you too Enrique…. And I'm happy to hear that from you…."

I wrapped my arms around her before I cupped her chin, making her look into my dark brown eyes as the against the gentle breeze passes. I then gave her a deep yet passionate kiss, expressing how much I love her. After pulling away from the kiss, we saw Pyrrha and Ankh walking up to us who also has their belongings packed and ready. "Hey Pyrrha."

"Hey," she responded as the four of us look at the city. "So… what happens now?"

"Now… we find a way to make you fully human again," I answered. "And after that… stop Kazari and the ones responsible for what happened at Beacon…"

With those words, the four of us began our journey as we left Vale. Whatever lies ahead for us, we have to be ready… Beacon fell, Pyrrha is back and now… now we have to find a way to help her become human. I won't give up on this. Not a chance…

It is my duty as _**Kamen Rider OOO**_.

* * *

 **CURRENT MEDALS:**

 **Blazing: Taka (x2), Kujaku (x1), Condor (x1)**

 **Scorching: Lion (x1), Tora (x2), Cheetah (x1)**

 **Strongest: Kuwagata (x1), Kamakiri (x1), Batta (x1)**

 **Legendary: Kobura (x1), Kame (x1), Wani (x1)**

 **Water: Shachi (x1), Tako (x1), Unagi (x1)**

 **Gravity: Sai (x1), Gorilla (x1), Zou (x2)**

 **Invincible: Ptera (x1), Tricera (x1), Tyranno (x1)**

 **Ultimate King: Super Taka (x1), Super Tora (x1), Super Batta (x1)**

* * *

 **A/N:** At last! The final chapter of the first season of OOO is finally complete! After almost two years, it is done! I am so glad you guys enjoyed this story and I hope you look forward for the second season of OOO. And again, before you argue and such about Pyrrha being brought back, I am about to say a few things.

 **Pyrrha's Semblance will play an important part later on in connection to the collection when all Cores are soon put into one Greeed (Can't tell you when). I know some of you might be upset but look, I'm gonna put it into more details: while she has been through enough as it is, doesn't she deserve a chance? Doesn't she want to help her friends? Plus Ankh is a homunculus, so there would be someone who can help her cope with what happened to her. Her status as a homunculus will also play a role into the story along with her Semblance along with the use of Panda and Kangaroo Medals. Plus she will be joining the Rider, Blake, and Ankh for their journey and will be human again (Can't tell you when though). If you don't like it then why read? Plus this is Fanfiction, there is bound to be** _ **some**_ **differences.**

And so, I am just laying that out there before you guys get upset and such.

Anyways I hoped you all enjoyed the season finale. Also I know I am a little bad with first person view but I am doing my best, okay? Also from now on, I will be publishing the other upcoming stories (Except OOO, Omega, and Chalice) in third person view. Thank you for reading the first season of my story and I am glad those who favorited and followed it liked it. Sayonara!

OH! And this Author's note isn't the end just yet. Why you ask? Read below ;)

P.S.: There will be one more 'chapter' uploaded after this.

* * *

 _In the grounds of the Lost Kingdom, the remains of the fight was still shown as Grimm still roam around the ruins of the ancient kingdom. However the thing that stood out was the Same, Kujira, and Ookamiuo Medals that were in the cracked Poseidon Driver, on top of the clump of medals of the now demised Gara._

 _Next to the cluster was the destroyed Poseidon Spear and the broken Black Core Medals. The ominous cores shined slightly as they began to form upon the chunk of medals, forming together as it began to even absorb the mass around it._

' _ **More… More…'**_ _The voice echoes from the six Cores. '_ _ **More…'**_

 _The three shattered Cores and the Poseidon Combo glowed, causing the driver to repair itself._

 _What felt like forever, Cell Medals in the shape of an arm rose out of the pile and grabbed onto the dirt. It slowly pulled itself as the Cores glowed with ominous energy, causing the Cell Medals and the three broken, black Cores to take shape while it pulled itself out._

 _Black ichor, similar to those of Grimm, leaked from the crevices of the Cell Medals, the cluster of medals forming a humanoid as black skin could been seen under the cluster of medals that were sinking into its body, even bone-like plating and 'bandages' were seen in certain parts of its body. The Poseidon driver was around its waist before the armor finally formed with the visors glowing a blood red before going back to its yellow color._

 _Only this time, it wasn't Gara wearing the armor… the armor itself was its own form… a new type of Greeed, born from the strong desires of Gara's quest for Godhood_ and _the_ _negativity of his lust for revenge and anger..._

" _ **Fight more… Become a God… Revenge… Kill…**_ **Kill… KILL** **OOO!"** _It roared out, so loud that it was heard around the area and to the sky for the gods to hear._

 **(SEASON 1 - END)**


	40. Remnants of Desires Season 2 Teaser

_**Fallen from the flames, a warrior is born from the soul...**_

The subtle yet ruined town was empty… but it wasn't as the howls and growls of the creatures of Grimm roam the streets. Houses were worn down, rubble and debris scattered across the pavement.

However… all that soon became quiet as the sound of footsteps were heard. In the streets was a young man with black hair that was messy yet slightly spiked with the tip of his bangs barely touching his eyes with his height being 5 ft. 9 in. He has dark brown eyes and light ivory skin. He was wearing a high-collared black coat with the coattails going past his waist, reaching to the knees while the lower half of the right sleeve was armored with gray plating, ending at the wrist. Under the jacket was a gray v-neck shirt as a dog tag locket hangs around his neck. He also wore dark pants along with black combat boots. Around the pants was a belt with a symbol engraved in the silver buckle, having the images of a tiger, hawk, and grasshopper that aligned to form the symbol. The left side of his belt carried vials of ice Dust while the right side held ammo clips. On his back was a sheath that was connected to a magnetic clip, holding a sword, the design hidden from view.

The wind gently brush past him, his coat flowing against the wind as he stops for a moment, pressing the dog tag as it opened to reveal two photos in it. One side being an old photo of a family when he was little while the other showed himself and a girl with him.

The calm atmosphere was halted as the sound of growling was heard around him, causing the young man to close the locket as he sees dark bipedal wolves with bone plating on their bodies but also some that took the motif of bears.

Beowolves and Ursa.

His gaze hardened upon seeing the creatures of darkness. He chuckled softly before he reached to his sword before he got a firm hold on the handle.

A Beowulf howled in the moonlight before rushing towards him. When it lunged at him, the young man quickly unsheathed his blade, cutting the Grimm in half. The body of the Beowulf flew past him and dissolved into wisps of black smoke.

The blade that was now in his hand was a black blade with a purple edge. The blade also had a hidden gun from the looks of it as well as having red, yellow, and green stripes down the middle. When another Beowolf pounced on him, he quickly rolled to the side to avoid its claws and decided to focus on his power, his Semblance.

The air around him became cold as the young man's right arm suddenly became coated in ice, forming an icy gauntlet as he bashed the Beowulf in the chest. When an Ursa tried to pummel him, he jumped back while leaving behind an icy construct. A strategy he learned from his beloved. When it struck the construct, it exploded into icy mist, blinding the Grimm in the area.

The Grimm swiveled their heads, searching for their prey. However, one by one, the sound of a blade cutting through was heard in the icy mist and they froze the moment the blade comes in contact with them. When the mist dissipated, the swordsman sheathed his sword and the Beowolves fell the moment it clicked into place.

Looking back he noticed an Alpha Beowolf and its pack, growling at him in hatred. Seeing this made him realize he needed to use the armor.

Reaching in his pocket, he quickly brought out a black and blue buckle as three coin slots were on the front of the device. Placing it on his waist, a silver belt hugs his waist. On his right was a coin holder while the other was a round circular device.

Presenting three colored 'coins', he placed them into the buckle, slanting it at the same time. Once ready, he grabs the scanner before scanning across the buckle.

"Henshin!"

 **TAKA!**

 **TORA!**

 **BATTA!**

 **TA-TO-BA TATOBA TA-TO-BA!**

He became surrounded by spinning coloured Medals which accompanied the transformation. In front of him, he spied images of the three Medals he was using appear. Taka was of course on the top, Tora was in the middle, and Batta was at the bottom. The three images then combined into one large crest which flew backward and into his chest. The entire body then became enveloped in energy which swiftly hardened into solid armour.

The helmet was mainly black, save for the red faceplate which looked like a hawk with its wings spread out in flight. On his forehead and acting as the hawk's beak was a red crystal. He could see through the large eyeholes which were strange since he could see through it clearly when the eyes are supposed to be green.

Running from his chin and down the neck was a red line that was connected to the top portion of the image on his chest. His torso armour had rounded shoulders that had yellow lines on them. Yellow lines ran down his arms and into the yellow gauntlets he wore decorated with what looked like folded claws on the forearm.

Lastly, his legs were minimally covered with segmented green armour not unlike that of a grasshopper's legs, connected by green lines to the lower section of the crest he bore.

This was the armor of OOO.

The yellow claws unfolded as he struck a Beowolf, cutting it in half before focusing on the pack. Rolled under its strike, OOO used the Tora Claw and sliced its chest before avoiding a swipe from the Alpha Beowolf's attack.

He rushed towards the Beowolf, ducking from its swipe before delivering another attack across its left arm. He rolled over its back before thrusting the claw into one of the Beowolves before he spun and used the other Tora Claw to pierce the other. However, it gave opening for the Alpha as it rushed towards him with its claws out.

OOO quickly focused on his Semblance, quickly pulling his blades out as two ice spikes impaled their skulls before he scanned the Medals.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

He leaps into the air and extended his left leg while the Beowolf pounced at him. "HAA!" He roared before the attack came in contact and struck through. He landed on his feet as the three Beowolves and Alpha Beowolf dissolve.

He looks at the dissolving beasts, seeing no more Grimm around. Suddenly, he was taken by surprise when something grabbed hold of him and hurled him into the wall. Regaining his vision, he took notice of what attacked him.

The Grimm was almost to that of a bipedal reptile but it was as tall as an ursa when it stands on its two feet. The head almost to that of a Komodo dragon. Its lower jaw, elbows, upper chest, and tail had the bone plating with spikes protruding from its back. Its knuckles were pressed against the concrete due to its long fingers, the reptilian Grimm hissing at him.

OOO stood up and prepared his stance. He leaped toward it, avoiding its tail and struck it across the face, leaving a scar across its eye. The Grimm flicked its tongue angrily before charging towards him like a mad bull. The Rider tried to dodge but it used its own tail, hitting the torso of his armor and right into a pile of crates. He groaned but he chose not to give up as he stands up with the claws ready.

Watching the Grimm rushing to him once more, he used the Batta Legs and delivered a powered kick to it, sending it falling onto its stomach. The armored huntsman landed on his feet before charging towards it once more. The bipedal reptile swung its tail but he slides across the ground, the tail missing him by a hair. When he tried to strike it once more, the Grimm grabbed him with both of its large claws before it spun around and tossed him to a building, the rubble and a cloud of dust forming upon impact. The Grimm roared until it sensed something off.

 **SUPER! SUPER! SUPER!**

 **SUPER TAKA!**

 **SUPER TORA!**

 **SUPER BATTA!**

 **SU~PER~! TATOBA, TA-TO-BA! SUPER!**

A golden light was seen in the rubble before OOO made himself known again. Only this time, his armor changed.

A golden-colored aura surrounded his body as the crests of the three Medals formed a special crest before it flew back to him. Now he was equipped with all three Special Core Medals as the golden glow soon died down, revealing the new form he was in with the bodysuit being an assortment of the three colors that corresponds with each crest. To top it all was a silhouette of golden bird-like wings that appeared before vanishing.

The Taka Head helmet had turned into the Taka Head Brave with a more detailed design on the helmet to resemble a bird's head with the yellow beak being a gemstone. The wing-like attachments to his helmet had become bigger and the eyes had turned red. It was very similar to that from the Blazing Combo. However, the red color reaches to the crest as the image of Taka was black instead of red.

His torso armour was yellow and had pointed shoulders, almost like that of the ears of a tiger with three black lines on them. The forearms were now black while his knuckles had yellow plating. The Tora crest was black as its background was also yellow while the folded claws were longer and the tips of the bladed claws were arches a bit.

Lastly, the legs were covered with segmented black armour from the knee down as the lower chest down was all green and there were spikes attached to his feet like a grasshopper. The lower section of the crest he bore was all green while the lines in the image of the grasshopper were black.

This was the true power of OOO, Super TaToBa aka, The Ultimate King Combo. The power that transcends time and space, striking the enemy swift and before they could even expect it.

The more intelligent Grimm roared at the young Huntsman before charging towards him, the latter slowly going into his stance and remained where he stood, focusing on the power that transcends time and space from the very Cores in his buckle.

As the Grimm charges towards him, he finally began to notice them slowing down, no, everything around him was slowing down as if time was slowing down.

The moment the Grimm swipes its tail at him, he vanished much to its surprise. However, it failed to notice him appear behind him and hopped onto its back. OOO dug his claws into the Grimm's back, the beast roaring in agony as it hurls around, trying to get the Rider off of it.

It swung around violently, trying to get him off but OOO wasn't letting it as he struck again and again. Having enough, it manages to reach up to him and tossed him a far.

He grunted but uses his claws to slow himself down before standing up. The Grimm was clearly wounded as black ichor was leaking from its wounds.

It roared as it was ready for one last stand. It rushed towards the Rider, prompting the latter to use the O-Scanner once more, scanning the three Medals.

 **SCANNING CHARGE!**

He was surrounded by a golden glow once again as all three parts were surrounded in a fiery color. The Batta Legs grew once more, forming the Super Batta Legs as the Super Taka Helmet glowed, along with the eyes and Rider Gem, as red energy wings formed on his back. He then jumped into the air as the golden rings formed in front of me, letting out a battle cry as he passed through each one, flying straight towards the Grimm, hitting it as the Golden OOO symbol showing from the kick as he landed on the other side.

The Grimm froze before it exploded into golden dust from the finisher, the Rider standing back up and let out a breath of relief. Seeing the Grimm defeated, he tilted the buckle back to its original position, reverting him to civilian form.

He heard a beep in his pocket before he reached into his jacket and pulled out a green can and popped the tab, the can converts into a mechanical grasshopper, projecting a small screen showing three people he knows. The first person on the screen showed a man who looks to be 5 years older with dirty blonde hair and dark red eyes. He was wearing a dark jacket with a gray fur collar with the right sleeve being red while the left retains its normal color. His pants that hugged his legs were a dark red color with black shoes to match his style.

The second person was a girl with waist-length red hair and has vivid green eyes. She also wore light green eyeshadow around the far upper corners of her eyes. She was wearing a crimson colored shirt and armored plating on her chest. Covering her left shoulder was a bronze shoulder plate with a symbol of a spear and shield. Around her forearms was armored greaves to protect the forearms. As a skirt, she wore a dark chainmail skirt that was a mix of a bronze and red color along with black stockings and metal heeled boots.

The last girl being the girl he loves. She was now wearing a long white coat and a black crop top. The crop top exposes her midriff and has rectangular and diamond-shaped holes surrounding her neck. Across her torso is a diagonal strap that contains a smaller magnetic clip used to sheathe her weapon. Additionally, she wears a white belt and pouch over dark, tight stretchy pants. She wears thigh-high black heeled boots with gold-colored edging around the top. The left boot has a pair of belted straps tightly wrapped around the thigh. Each boot bears a belladonna emblem in white on the outer side of the thigh. She also has her bow on.

" _Oi, we saw the explosion not too far. You better not have lost any Medals where you are at,"_ The blonde said, his voice sounding upset.

The young man chuckled softly upon seeing his 'mentor' say his usual statement. All he wants is Medals but he cares about the safety, he just doesn't show it. "I didn't lose any, Ankh." He took notice of some Grimm approaching from the east. "Got some Grimm heading towards my direction."

" _Be careful, Enrique,"_ the gentle voice of the girl with the bow said. He always keeps his promise to her since that day they admit their feelings for each other. A year being together, they deeply care about each other's safety.

" _We'll be right with you,"_ the redhead said. _"Don't hog all the fun."_

A small smile crept his lips, "Wouldn't dream of it." He closed the can before he held the blade tightly and prepared himself to fight the incoming Grimm.

 _ **... For a new King shall rise from its ashes**_

* * *

 **COMING SOON: Remnants of Desires: After the Fall**


End file.
